Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, Brian covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times. Over a decade as a defense journalist, he has reported from dozens of bases at home and abroad, including austere airstrips in Afghanistan, the cockpit of a B-52 over the South Pacific and the boom operator station of a KC-46. Before the military beat, Brian covered the Washington state legislature for the Associated Press.
The U.S. Space Force this month will finalize its force design for how it will move the ground moving target indication mission from aircraft to space, with the plan to shape the 2024 budget request. The U.S. Air Force wants to retire its E-8C Joint Stars that currently serve in this role, with much of the capability to come from satellites. This plan faces several hurdles, however, not the least of which is physics.
