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. Air Force is planning large spending increases for the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider as the bomber moves closer to its first flight and more aircraft enter production.
The U.S. Air Force wants to end production of its next-generation combat rescue helicopter earlier than planned, reducing the program of record by about one-third as it looks to future threats.
The U.S. Air Force, having been previously blocked by Congress from retiring MQ-9 Reapers that are heavily used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, is trying a different approach in the fiscal 2023 budget request released March 28.
