There's one thing that's impossible to ignore when walking the halls of the Air, Space & Cyber conference outside Washington: American airpower.

• Past, present, future — the desire for overhead muscle smacks you in the face. Banners. Videos. Clothing. Pamphlets. Ads. Stickers. Models.

Why it matters: There's a lot on the line, both in factories at home and in messaging abroad. The U.S. Air Force is, according to service Secretary Troy Meink, "under the largest level of modernization in its history."

• "Matter of fact, in some areas, it's not just modernization. These are missions that didn't exist five years ago," he said on stage Monday.
• "The key here is ... we have to execute, execute, execute. Cost. Schedule. Performance."

The intrigue: This week's spotlight stealers were all larger aircraft still in the works and, notably, not $500 drones with grenades dangling off them.

• Boeing has its futuristic fighter, the F-47. The first is being manufactured now.
• Northrop Grumman has its stealthy bomber, the B-21. Two were recently photographed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as flight tests progress.
• And then there is the trio of much-discussed robo-wingmen from Anduril Industries (YFQ-44A), General Atomics (YFQ-42A) and Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (Vectis). The first will soon fly. The second went airborne last month. And the third is still being built.

Friction point: America's fleet is aging.

• "I never flew a KC-135 younger than I was," said Meink, who began his career as a tanker navigator and instructor.
• "We will be maintaining aircraft, probably, that are 100 years old on the path we're on," he added. "That is the challenge we have."

What we're watching: Footage from Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities that involved 125-plus aircraft, as it's unleashed on the conference's biggest screens.

• "It's not enough just to be able to stick the jab," Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Monday. "You've got to be able to let your adversary know you can put them on the canvas."

More from Axios:

F-47 could be airborne "faster than normal," says Boeing exec

Check out the Air Force's new B-21 stealth bomber in flight

Lockheed's Skunk Works unveils Vectis, a stealthy drone wingman