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 fleet in fiscal 2021 saw a total of 21 of its most serious incidents, a lower number from previous years, while its less-serious mishap rates have increased.
The Air Force Research Laboratory on Jan. 14 awarded SpaceX a $102 million contract for its Rocket Cargo program, an effort studying the feasibility of moving military materiel through space.
The Pentagon’s new long-term budget plan, expected to be announced in March, will include a large investment in hypersonic test infrastructure to help the services develop the new weapons on an accelerated schedule.
