Generating airpower, sharpening tactical skills & securing the mission. See how our Airmen maintain our combat edge worldwide in some of this week's photos here and more at

Integrated airpower in action. 🤝 F-35 and F-16 interoperability strengthens the joint force enabling faster, more decisive responses to secure air superiority in any environment.

China’s J-36 program is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. A massive tailless aircraft, three-engine configuration and a design built around range, internal volume and low observability point to a very different approach to sixth-generation airpower. What stands out most is the development tempo. Since its public appearance in December 2024, multiple prototypes and visible design changes have emerged, suggesting China is rapidly testing and refining the concept rather than waiting for a single final configuration. To me, the bigger story isn’t the J-36 itself. It’s China’s ability to move an entirely new combat-aircraft concept from design to repeated flight testing while the program is still evolving.

Relentless preparation, elite tactics & the daily grind of maintaining our combat edge. See how our Airmen generate & project airpower around the world 👇

TACP Airmen are evolving beyond their traditional advisory roles during RED FLAG-Alaska. Operating independently in remote terrain, they are redefining how we guide airpower & secure information on the modern battlefield. Read how they keep us ahead of the curve 👇

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia has flown 157 airstrikes on the Houthis, and the man who counts America's weapons says the result will be a mowed lawn that grows back Mark Cancian tracks arsenals for CSIS, and the Saudi campaign looks sustainable to him for one reason: it burns the short and medium-range bombs the United States stocks deeply and sells freely. What it cannot do is the thing Riyadh needs. The Houthis have dug in the way Hezbollah and Hamas did, airpower can hamper their ports without closing them, and a third of normal traffic still moves through the Red Sea only because the Houthis choose not to hit the rest. Israel, meanwhile, has struck a mutual silence with both Yemen and Iran, and the F-35s Washington just authorized for Riyadh won't reach a Saudi runway for years. So the lawn gets mowed, the grass returns, and the port of Yanbu stays a target. The only exit that has ever worked here is a ceasefire, and the Saudis aren't asking for one. @MarkCancian @WeTheBrandon

This morning, @SecAFOfficial announced the official names of the Air Force’s newest Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the FQ-42 Vengeance and FQ-44 Fury, during his keynote address at the @AFA_Air_Space's #AFANational# Conference. Revealing popular names was a natural next step for the CCA program as the Air Force modernizes the nation’s aerial combat fleet. The Air Force intends to purchase about 1,000 combat-ready, semi-autonomous systems that will extend reach, awareness and survivability of American airpower in contested environments. Meink confirmed that the service would have 500 of the aircraft by 2032. More to follow.