Vanessa Montalbano

Washington, D.C., United States

Air Force Reporter at Inside Defense

Air Force reporter @insidedefense 👩‍💻🌎 | past: climate @washingtonpost | double @AU_SOC alum | news tips to [email protected] | Mets fan, obviously

Articles

GE Aerospace, Kratos expand partnership to produce engines for 'CCA-type' aircraft

3 days ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

Engine-maker GE Aerospace and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions are broadening their existing partnership to build advanced propulsion options for small, lower-cost unmanned aerial systems, according to a GE news release issued on Tuesday . Together, GE and Kratos will “develop, manufacture, test and field the GEK800 Engine, as well as collaborate on other low-cost expendable turbofan engines,” the release stated.
Allvin: Ukraine's drone warfare 'should humble us'

5 days ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

Ukraine's massive drone attack against Russia over the weekend is prompting the U.S. Air Force to think differently about its capability mix, favoring certain low-cost systems over exquisite ones, service Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said today. “The innovation within combat is growing so much more rapidly,” Allvin said during the Special Competitive Studies Project AI Expo in Washington.
Air Force’s REFORPAC exercise to kickoff early July

1 week ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

REFORPAC, the Air Force’s largest multicombatant command exercise set for the Indo-Pacific will begin on July 10 and last roughly through the first week of August, a service spokesperson confirmed to Inside Defense. Operations planned for the drill will happen across the entire U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, but a majority will take place in Hawaii and Guam, said Col. Sean McKenna, Pacific Air Forces director of public affairs.
Boeing invested more in F-47 than it ever had on a defense program

1 week ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

Boeing put more dollars into its bid for the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter jet than it has on any past defense contract, CEO Kelly Ortberg said today. “The team did a very good job on pursuing that program,” Ortberg said during Bernstein’s Annual Strategic Decisions Conference. “We invested in this area more than any investment we’ve ever made in our defense business, and that investment paid off.” The Trump administration on March 21 announced Boeing had been selected...
Lockheed CEO: F-35 upgrade could include 'optionally manned' autonomy

1 week ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

Lockheed Martin is eyeing "optionally manned" autonomy for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as part of its proposed "fifth-generation-plus" capability improvement offerings, CEO Jim Taiclet said today. “The kinds of technologies we’re speaking about are coatings, for example, stealth coatings, both infrared and radar coatings, on the aircraft surface,” Taiclet said during Bernstein’s Annual Strategic Decisions Conference.
JetZero's blended wing body peels back curtain on Air Force's NGAS vision

1 week ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

LONG BEACH, CA -- When JetZero executive Nate Metzler thinks about his company's offer for the Air Force's future fleet of refueling platforms, he imagines a giant manta ray gliding through the air. The image comes from the startup’s blended wing body tanker concept, which resembles the creature in the sky. The company’s KC-Z4 proposal is designed to burn less fuel and deliver more gas further downrange than the Air Force’s current tanker options, in large part due to its...
Air Force to award a classified contract to modify Qatari 747 for presidential airlift

2 weeks ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

The Air Force is "preparing to" award a contract to begin the enormous modifications necessary to transform a Boeing 747 aircraft from Qatar into a platform usable for U.S. executive airlift, according to a service spokesperson. Other details related to the contract will remain classified, the Air Force spokesperson told Inside Defense.
Allvin: Only about half of the KC-46 fleet is actually available

2 weeks ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

The beleaguered KC-46 Pegasus fleet has an availability rate around 51%, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said today, pointing to efforts between the service and Boeing to resolve several persistent problems on the aircraft. “That includes those that are in the depot maintenance,” Allvin said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss the Air Force’s fiscal year 2026 budget. “So again, that is not a number that we’re proud of but there are several issues...
Air Force eyeing low-cost, air-to-air missile alternative to AMRAAM

3 weeks ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

The Air Force wants to invest in developing a new high-speed, air-to-air missile in part to arm the first iteration of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, according to a top service official and a recent request for information filing . “We’re looking at new, more affordable air-to-air missiles and what those things look like,” Maj. Gen. Joseph Kunkel, the service's director of force design, integration and wargaming, said last week during a discussion hosted by the Mitchell Institute. “So, the bottom...
Trump reveals potential for new 'F-55' jet and upgrades to F-22

3 weeks ago | insidedefense.com | Vanessa Montalbano

President Trump today said he wants to give the U.S. military's fifth-generation fighters a makeover, including by overhauling the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with a twin engine and a "super upgrade." “The F-35, we’re doing an upgrade, a simple upgrade. But we’re also doing an F-55 -- I’m going to call it an F-55 -- and that’s going to be a substantial upgrade, but it’s going to be also with two engines because an F-35 has a single engine. I... Not a subscriber?