British Prime Minister Tony Blair has sent a letter to President Bush urging that he retain development of a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Reuters news service reports that an unnamed British official said the letter was...

We reported the QDR-2007 budget demise of USAF’s E-10 all-in-one ISR platform (all but a test aircraft) and the Airborne Laser. It seems USAF leaders decided they also could do without the Electric B-52. Defense analyst Loren Thompson says the...

Conferees on the 2006 defense authorization bill eliminated a House-inspired “Buy America” provision that would have barred EADS from entering its Airbus aircraft in a USAF tanker competition, according to Associated Press news service. We took note, last summer, of...

Speaking with reporters in Washington Wednesday, US Permanent Representative to NATO Victoria Nuland was optimistic about the alliance’s new response force, saying plans are moving forward to have it stand up by fall 2006. She noted that it’s “a challenging...

Victoria Nuland told reporters Wednesday that NATO is moving with deliberate speed to transform the Cold War-born alliance into a more relevant force in today’s post-Soviet Union world. “We’ve had a lot of success in increasing budgets and sense of...

More Details Coming on US-Japan New Moves: USAF Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, head of US Forces Japan, tells Stars and Stripes that officials plan to flesh out the new defense cooperation agreement reached by US and Japan by late March....

Air National Guardsmen of the 212th Rescue Squadron at Kulis ANGB, Alaska, responded to a search-and-rescue call to find survivors from a small airplane that crashed on Jan. 2 in the Bear Lake Glacier area. The Anchorage Daily News reports...

Winter Takes Navy Chair: The seat probably was still warm for Donald C. Winter, the new Secretary of the Navy, after Gordon England formally vacated the chair on Dec. 29. Winter took leadership of the Navy on Jan. 3. Previously,...

Behind the Scenes With Predator: Predator UAVs flying over Iraq are directed by pilots and sensor operators who may be sitting at Creech AFB, Nev., and, sometimes, Balad AB, Iraq, and they are maintained by 61 USAF airmen and three...

The Economically Free Fare Better: According to the 12th annual Index of Economic Freedom, nations with the “most economic freedom also have higher rates of long-term economic growth and are more prosperous that are those with less economic freedom.” The...

VA Home Loan Ceiling Rises: Veterans Affairs raised the ceiling on no-down-payment home loans for veterans from $359,650 to $417,000, effective on Jan. 1. Officials say the new rate helps the VA “keep pace with rising home values.” You can...

GE Secures Singapore Engine Deal: Singapore has signed up for GE F110 engines to power the 12 F-15SG fighters it purchased from F-15-maker Boeing. There’s an option for another eight aircraft, as well. The SG model is an advanced version...

The South Korean Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Kim Sung-il, took one of his country’s new F-15K fighters for a test ride recently. A fairly standard procedure for an Air Force leader, right? Unfortunately, the ability of the advanced...

Military and DOD civilian personnel can receive medals for their assistance during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita relief efforts, according to the Air Force Personnel Center. Services may award military members the Humanitarian Service Medal or the Armed Forces Service Medal...

January 3, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 14 6 – 20 CAS/Armed Recon 52 20 – 72 Airlift – – 160 160 Air refueling – – 34 34 Total 66 26 194 286 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...