All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Troy E. Meink unveiled the Ringleader technical initiative on February 23, 2026 during his keynote at the Air & Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium.
The Ringleader initiative is a pillar of the Department of the Air Force’s acquisition transformation to move away from legacy airborne platforms such as the E-8C JSTARS.
Results from the Ringleader exercises will inform final requirements for the Department of the Air Force’s next-generation tactical data links.
Kristin Burke is Senior Space and Counterspace Researcher at the China Aerospace Studies Institute, Air University, U.S. Air Force.
Kim Crider is a founding partner of Elara Nova and a retired U.S. Air Force Major General with more than 35 years of experience in space and cyber national security.
The proposed KC-390 enhancements aim to expand the aircraft’s role in boom-based refuelling used by the US Air Force for many fixed-wing aircraft.
The KC-390 currently primarily uses hose-and-drogue refuelling systems that are compatible with many allied aircraft but not all USAF platforms.
No formal United States Air Force procurement program has been announced that is specifically tied to a boom-equipped KC-390 variant.
Aetherflux received a multi-million dollar grant from the Department of Defense’s operational energy capability improvement fund in partnership with the U.S. Air Force to develop a proof of concept demonstrating wireless power transmission from LEO to Earth.
The 2021 Colonial Pipeline hack caused a fuel pipeline to cease functioning and cut off deliveries of jet fuel to U.S. Air Force bases.
Sophie Adenot credits her grandfather, a mechanic in France's air force, for instilling her love of taking things apart and fixing them.
Zhang Lu served in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and achieved the rank of Senior Colonel.
Zhang Lu served in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and held the rank of Senior Colonel prior to becoming a taikonaut.
In June 1966 the Air Force launched seven communications satellites into near-synchronous orbits of 33,877 by 33,655 kilometers and included an eighth satellite as a technology demonstrator.
In 1971 the Air Force launched the first Defense Satellite Communications System II (DSCS II) satellite, a larger spin-stabilized satellite placed in geosynchronous orbit.
The Air Force eliminated the Atlas-Agena launch option and decided to launch IDSCS satellites on the fourth Titan IIIC launch.
The Air Force focused on the Initial Defense Communication Satellite Program (IDCSP), later renamed the Initial Defense Satellite Communications System (IDSCS).
After Advent was cancelled, a lightweight geosynchronous satellite was proposed but remained in limbo by December 1962 with no Air Force procurement action.
Once DSCS II satellites became operational the Air Force primarily relied upon large geosynchronous satellites for its primary communications requirements.
The Air Force studied a medium-orbit communications system at approximately 9,260 kilometers altitude that could involve as many as 20 satellites in random orbits simultaneously.