The United States and Japan have agreed to establish a facility in Japan for the final assembly and inspection of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), strengthening bilateral cooperation on weapons production.
US AIR FORCE
The US Air Force has moved its AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic missile into production under a $694 million Lockheed Martin contract, reviving a programme that faced repeated test failures and funding uncertainty.
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have announced a 10-year framework targeting 1,560 F-35 fighters at a production rate of 156 aircraft annually.
The U.S. Air Force has proposed a $1.057 billion F-47 Future Campus at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The first phase includes an operations and maintenance hangar, reprogramming laboratory, simulator facility and aircraft apron, with construction targeted for completion in March 2031. Additional maintenance, training and support facilities are planned through 2032, while the fighter’s permanent operational basing locations remain unspecified.
The U.S. Air Force is targeting 1,509 combat-coded fighters by 2035 while evaluating whether new-production F-16s should replace aging aircraft. The decision will depend on procurement funding, manufacturing capacity, the service life of existing fighters, and the growing role of Collaborative Combat Aircraft. A separate low-risk estimate of 1,723 fighters highlights the importance of operational risk in long-term force planning.
The U.S. Air Force has added KestrelX, A2G International and Fleet Adversary Support and Training to a $5.4 billion contract for adversary air and close air support training.
US leads with 444 combat drones, ahead of Türkiye and Iran. See the top 10 air force fleets and key platforms.
The US Marine Corps has demonstrated an eight-weapon StormBreaker ripple release from an F-35B, advancing efforts to engage multiple targets in a single pass. The test highlights the weapon’s precision-guidance capabilities and potential to reduce pilot workload, while software integration and additional testing remain critical to full operational fielding.
India’s IAF chief says the US made no formal F-35 offer, raising questions about stealth fighters and India’s AMCA plans.
The U.S. Air Force is preparing to replace the mission computer aboard its older F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets, as it seeks to keep the aircraft operational into the 2040s.