UAV Development & Drone Programs   AI   Defense Policy  
DefenseNews.com • Valerie Insinna

US Air Force shifts UAV acquisition focus from platforms and sensors to mission data exploitation

The U.S. Air Force’s future approach to developing and acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles is expected to place less emphasis on the airframe and onboard sensors and more on how UAV-collected data is analyzed and disseminated. The procurement logic moves toward effect-centric “data-to-action” pipelines over platform specs.

2026-04-27T20:34:38.136028-07:00
Aviation Safety & Regulation   Defense Budgets & Spending   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Policy & Regulation   Defense Policy  
DefenseNews.com • Joe Gould

Program head: CR will ‘slow down versus stop’ F-35 progress

By DefenseNews.com: While the F-35 program will move forward at pace even if funded through a continuing resolution, development and testing activities will slow down starting around April 2018 if a CR extends into spring, the head of the program office warned Wednesday.

2026-04-27T20:34:36.124913-07:00
Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Budgets & Spending   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Defense Policy  
DefenseNews.com • Lara Seligman

Air Force Secretary Warns of Consequences if McCain Blocks B-21

By DefenseNews.com: WASHINGTON — As Sen. John McCain continues his crusade against the Air Force’s next-generation B-21 bomber, service secretary Deborah Lee James is warning of the cost in both dollars and time of terminating the contract.

2026-04-27T17:49:17.762459-07:00