New 12th Air Force Falconer Almost Ready

July 18, 2006

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Col. Timothy Vigil, who is 12th Air Force’s Warfighting Headquarters special assistant, gave his new boss—Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, commander of 12th Air Force—and the head of US Southern Command, Army Gen. John Craddock, a tour of 12th Air Force’s new Combined Air and Space Operations Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The new CAOC, which was originally expected to open this month, is still under construction, but officials expect it to be up and running in November. It will join five other operational “Falconer” centers around the world.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

DAF to Double Construction Budget to Ready for B-21, F-47

Air Force Graduates Final Class of New A-10 Pilots as Aircraft Retirement Looms

What Are Chinese Media Outlets Saying About the F-47?

Air Force, Navy Fighters Patrolling for Threats During US Blockade of Iran

Related

Pentagon Cancels $6B GPS Ground System Contract

April 20, 2026
The Pentagon has canceled its contract with RTX to field a ground segment to manage its most capable GPS satellites, a more than 15-year effort beleaguered by software development issues and cost overages.

Iran War Highlights the Value of Unmanned Aircraft 

April 20, 2026
The use of MQ-9 Reapers against Iran offer insights as the Air Force develops the next generation of unmanned planes: collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), retired Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell and Douglas A. Birkey write.

F-16 Tests ‘Rusty Dagger’ Extended-Range Missile

April 20, 2026
The Air Force recently tested the Rusty Dagger, a low-cost cruise missile, with the F-16, one of several industry offerings in the Pentagon's larger effort to field affordable weapons. The Air Force release states that the Team Eglin Test Enterprise conducted Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) testing at Eglin Air…

Air Force Delays A-10 Retirement Until 2030

April 20, 2026
The Air Force is extending the life of the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack plane until at least 2030, pausing the service’s plan to retire the close air support aircraft amid active combat in the Middle East.

Space Command Laying Foundation for Maneuver Warfare

April 20, 2026
U.S. Space Command has tasked a team of internal analysts with laying the foundation for a future maneuver warfare strategy that uses advanced, on-orbit mobility to “shatter the enemy’s cohesion,” the command’s top officer said April 13.

‘Angry Kitten’ EW Pod Tested on Search-and-Rescue HC-130

April 17, 2026
The Air Force recently tested its “Angry Kitten” electronic warfare pod on an HC-130J during Exercise Bamboo Shield, showing the pod can turn the rescue platform into a command-and-control node and protect it from enemy radars.