The U.S. Air Force has opened applications for its Fiscal Year 2026 Aviation Bonus (AvB) program, giving eligible active-duty aviators a two-month window from April 1 to May 31, 2026, to apply for annual incentive pay of up to $50,000.
US AIR FORCE
Using the latest figures from Global Firepower as of March 2026, we can rank the world’s air forces by total aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force requests $1B in FY2027 to procure CCA drone wingmen, marking the program’s historic shift from development to production.
Trump agrees to two-week Iran ceasefire as Strait of Hormuz reopens. Pakistan brokers deal, global markets rally, peace talks set for Islamabad.
The U.S. Air Force is reviving its Standoff Attack Weapon (SoAW) program, seeking an affordable air-launched cruise missile ready for fielding by 2033, backed by a record $11.36 billion missile procurement budget request for fiscal 2027.
A prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems crashed shortly after takeoff on April 6, 2026.
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2027 budget requests only 38 F-35As for the U.S. Air Force out of 85 total F-35s, prompting analysts to warn the number is insufficient to reverse the service’s deepening fighter inventory shortfall amid competing modernization priorities.
The United States Air Force (USAF) has transferred a retired Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker from long-term storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) to Tinker Air Force Base (TIK), signaling a potential return to operational service.
The United States Air Force (USAF) confirmed that an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on April 3, 2026, amid escalating military operations in the Middle East.
The US Air Force’s rare and secretive NT-43A aircraft, known by its callsign RAT55, was spotted over Melbourne, Florida, ahead of NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission launch.