Michael Scanlon
Contributor
Michael Scanlon is a defense journalist covering air and space warfare. A former U.S. Air Force A-10 crew chief, he has supported land and sea programs for the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
All Stories By Michael
Pentagon’s push to field weapons faster risks outrunning its own oversight, watchdog finds
Workforce reductions meant that weapon systems reach warfighters with “undocumented shortfalls related to effectiveness, suitability, [and] survivability."
Pilot shut off fuel supply, leading to October 2025 Skyraider II crash, Air Force finds
A student pilot reached for the wrong fuel control in his Block-1 OA-1K Skyraider II, forcing a crash-landing, an Air Force investigation found.
House backs $1.55 billion to revive E-7 Wedgetail, spares Navy Hawkeye
The White House budget office wants to raid a Navy radar-plane account and a classified Air Force line to pull the E-7 Wedgetail back from the dead.
F-35 program chief warns fleet has outgrown its support system amid record-low readiness
The hearing comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office report this month that found just one in four F-35s were fully mission capable.
US Air Force awards first CCA production contracts to General Atomics, Anduril
The U.S. Air Force has cleared its first Collaborative Combat Aircraft to enter production.
Only 1 in 4 F-35s is fully mission capable, GAO finds
The F-35’s readiness rates continued to decline through fiscal 2025, with the fleet’s full mission capable rate falling to 25%, according to a GAO report.
House panel backs A-10 Warthog through 2030, eyes autonomous successors
House lawmakers approved provisions allowing the A-10 Warthog to stay in service through its planned 2030 retirement.
Lockheed’s GRIZZLY C-UAS system downs attack drone in live-fire demo
The live-fire demonstration paired the radars, Sanctum software and launcher to destroy the target at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
