John Tirpak

Editorial Director at Air & Space Forces Magazine

Airpower, space and music enthusiast.

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Articles

General Atomics Designing Long-Range Stealth ‘GHOST’ Drone

1 week ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

Drone manufacturer General Atomics is developing an autonomous, stealthy, penetrating, ultra-long-endurance flying-wing reconnaissance and strike platform for the Air Force under a $99.3 million Air Force Research Laboratory contract awarded May 27. The cost-plus-fixed fee award is for an aircraft to be powered by “hybrid-electric propulsion” and use a ducted fan.
MITRE: 'We Still Have Work to Do' to Attract New Defense Contractors

1 week ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

Small and medium businesses are still skeptical of defense work despite years of effort and a raft of legislation aimed at accelerating acquisition and breaking down barriers for new entrants — though that perception is slowly improving, according to a new industry survey.
Air Force Will Have More Control of F-47 Fighter Design

2 weeks ago | realcleardefense.com | John Tirpak

Air Force Will Have More Control of F-47 Fighter DesignThe F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft
Agreement Ensures Access to UK-US Base on Diego Garcia

2 weeks ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.
More B-21s May Be Necessary If B-52J Upgrade Goes Awry

2 weeks ago | realcleardefense.com | John Tirpak

More B-21s May Be Necessary If B-52J Upgrade Goes AwryThe Air Force might want to buy more than the planned fleet of 100 B-21 Raider bombers
USAF Will Have More Control of F-47 Fighter

2 weeks ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.
More B-21s May Be Necessary if B-52J Upgrade Goes Awry

2 weeks ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

The Air Force might want to buy more than the planned 100 B-21 bombers, particularly if the B-52J upgrade doesn’t pan out, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee May 20. If the B-52 modernization program “goes worse than we hope, then we would need more” money for B-21s, Allvin told Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
USAF Has Started Planning for Qatari 747 to Enter Presidential Service as Air Force One

2 weeks ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Air Force to start planning modifications to the 747-8 gifted to the U.S. by Qatar into a suitable presidential transport, Air Force Secretary Dr. Troy E. Meink told the Senate Armed Services Committee May 20. He also promised that the jet would meet all the basic requirements of the mission and would be ready for service as Air Force One by 2029.
The Biggest News from India-Pakistan Air Battle: the Kill Chain

2 weeks ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

The most important element of an air-to-air engagement in the recent India-Pakistan conflict may be how Pakistan integrated its Chinese-origin weapons and air defenses to shoot down at least one Indian Rafale fighter, an expert on the Chinese military said. Pakistan can “integrate ground radars with fighter jets and airborne early warning aircraft,” said J. Michael Dahm, a senior fellow at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, who is an expert on Chinese military affairs.
Is There a Twin-Engined F-35 Coming?

3 weeks ago | airandspaceforces.com | John Tirpak

President Donald Trump is interested in developing a twin-engined, upgraded version of the F-35 fighter, he said during a press event May 15 in Qatar marking the sale of Boeing airliners and GE Aerospace engines to Qatar Airways.