The Afterburn Podcast

Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/TT-9woSmEu8
Saudi Arabia fields Patriot batteries and one of the most capable air forces in the Middle East, and a Houthi barrage still reached King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10, killing 13 people and wounding more than 300.
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch on Afterburn Defense YouTube: https://youtu.be/XNjurMWMPlg
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
Boeing won the Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation carrier fighter on September 29, which means one company now builds both American sixth-gen fighters, the Navy’s F/A-XX and the Air Force’s F-47.

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/sJdOot0ti2E
Taiwan’s first two F-16 Block 70 fighters have landed at their new home, plus the US Air Force is weighing new-build F-16s for the first time since 2005. Today we discuss the Block 70, the proposed F-16G, Viper Shield, and the fighter shortfall driving it.
Sources:
The War Zone: https://www.twz.com/air/new-build-f-16s-for-the-usaf-is-an-idea-that-wont-go-away-for-good-reason
Air and Space Forces: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-eyes-new-build-f-16s-to-boost-fighter-force/
The first two of 66 F-16 Block 70s ordered by Taiwan in 2019 touched down at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung on October 2, 2026, after a ferry flight from Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, South Carolina line that stalled in Hawaii for more than a month. Today we discuss what that roughly $8 billion package actually contains, from the APG-83 AESA radar and Link 16 to smart bomb tail kits, towed decoys, and the integrated offensive and defensive electronic warfare suite that L3Harris Viper Shield answers.

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch on Afterburn Defense: https://youtu.be/4Er8ciSvT84
KC-135 battle damage repair: Air Mobility Command commander Lt Gen Daniel
Tulley revealed how maintainers saved a Stratotanker loaded with 200,000
pounds of fuel after an enemy attack during Operation Epic Fury.
Ogden Air Logistics Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUDBQ8fmr8Ek

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch on Afterburn Defense YouTube: https://youtu.be/F21BnqlbCow
Today we discuss the Air Force naming its first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the FQ-42A Vengeance from General Atomics and the FQ-44A Fury from Anduril, plus the plan for 1,000 drones by 2032.
On 14 September 2026, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced a target of roughly 1,000 autonomous combat aircraft by 2032: 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft and 500 Massed Modular Aircraft. The F in FQ-42 and FQ-44 is deliberate. These are being designated as fighters, not surveillance drones.
Vengeance has been delivered to Creech Air Force Base and has already flown in formation with the F-35 and the F-15E Strike Eagle. Fury fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM at a digital target in July with a human retaining oversight of the shot. Contract award to first flight ran about 18 months, a pace almost unheard of in defense acquisition.

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.