A new restriction bars airmen from turning on the autopilot when flying at an altitude of less than 2,000 feet at night, or when flying in bad weather. The Air Force's planned tests will make sure the new Compass Call's electronic warfare capabilities have been properly integrated into the Gulfstream jet. However, much remains undecided over how to field an advanced refueling aircraft the service now calls the next-generation aerial refueling system. For the first time since 1990, Cope Thunder is coming back to the Philippines. The Air Force is celebrating 100 years of air refueling by performing flyovers across the country. The Air Force wants its next tankers to be able to survive in the contested airspace likely in the nation's next war. “Our mobility fleet can no longer operate forward with relative impunity,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at the AFA Warfare Symposium. “We have the demos, we have the videos, we’ve flown it on [Boeing] planes … and it looks magnificent,” says the Air Force's Lt. Col. Joshua Renfro. As of Sunday, 24 of the 90 KC-135s that were inspected had noncompliant pins, the Air Force said. A blended wing design is one idea the Air Force is seriously considering for the future KC-Z refueling tanker. Load More