The Air Force is “green” for initial operational capability with the F-35A next August, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, director of USAF’s F-35’s integration office, told reporters Monday at ASC15. All 12 to 14 of the F-35As to be delivered to...

The biggest challenge on the road to the Air Force declaring F-35 initial operational capability is the delivery of the ALIS (Autonomic Logistics Information System) software, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, director of the Air Force’s F-35 integration office, said Monday...

The United States’s airpower advantage over Russia “is shrinking,” US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Commander Gen. Frank Gorenc told reporters Sept. 14 at ASC15. After Russia’s August 2008 invasion of Georgia, Gorenc noted, “they didn’t like what they...

Northrop Grumman is revamping the maintenance schedule for the B-2 Spirit fleet with the goal to increase the availability of the fleet by one full aircraft and reduce fleet sustainment costs, the company announced Sept. 14. The contract modification—signed in...

The Air Force this week will unveil a “future operating concept” explaining a tighter integration between the air, space, and cyber domains, Secretary Deborah Lee James announced Monday at ASC15. The white paper represents the third element of a three-part...

A1C Spencer Stone will receive the Purple Heart later this week for wounds received when he and his friends intercepted a heavily armed terrorist on a French high-speed train last month, announced Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James at ASC15....

The US and its NATO allies in Europe are re-examining concepts, such as hardening, dispersal of airfields and bases, and new rapid deployment methods, to increase survivability in light of Russia’s recent aggression in the East, US Air Forces in...

A provision of the defense appropriations bill that would take the housing allowance away from the junior member of a military couple is “fundamentally unfair” and would be a major hit to military compensation, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James...

The first F-22 deployment to Europe has concluded, but the short visit helped pilots and crews see how the fifth generation fighter can operate and collaborate with USAF units and allies in the region, US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces...

Lockheed Martin is preparing an unsolicited offer to the Air Force for a “TR-X” replacement for the U-2, and could have something flying by 2025 if given the go-ahead. Scott Winstead, company U-2 strategic business manager, said at a press...

The Air Force will retire the MQ-1 Predator fleet in 2018, consolidating to the MQ-9 Reaper for remotely piloted armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. “Today, MQ-1s and MQ-9s have collectively flown 2.4 million hours and currently the Air Force is...

Despite negative portrayals of the Air Force’s remotely piloted aircraft community, all RPA pilots involved in a service study said the job is not like a game, and those who have conducted airstrikes have reported a large emotional impact on...

Times of austerity are exactly the wrong times to cut science and technology, Mark Lewis of Institute for Defense Analysis said in a panel discussion at ASC?15. S&T—and test and evaluation, as well—must not become a “bill payer” for operations...

Air Force Special Operations Command is now the service’s “go-to force” for the manned, tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission, said Deputy Chief of Staff for ISR Lt. Gen. Bob Otto. With Air Combat Command’s divestiture of the MC-12W Liberty,...

The cost of nuclear modernization is going to grow in the coming years, but the total price tag is debatable and often varies considerably depending on the timeline considered, the capabilities included, and the assumptions made, said Evan Montgomery, a...

The 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota AB, Japan, is preparing to begin swapping its legacy C-130s for new-build C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, Lockheed Martin representatives announced at ASC?15. Dyess AFB, Texas, and Ramstein AB, Germany, have fully converted to the...

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said she doesn’t see “any barriers to opening up” the remaining seven career fields currently closed to women once there are “gender neutral and operationally relevant standards” in place. Speaking at ASC15, James said...

Adapting airpower to succeed in the 21st Century will take more than bolting on new technologies to industrial age platforms and concepts, an ASC15 speakers panel declared Sept. 14. It will take some serious rethinking about how USAF and the...

The biggest “inhibitor” to an agile system of technology development is “mindset,” Air Force Research Lab chief Maj. Gen. Thomas Masiello said at ASC15. The service and the Congress need to treat technology development on an even footing with readiness,...

Asked to name a “holy grail” technology that will be the key game-changer in future air combat, USAF Chief Scientist Greg Zacharias, in a panel discussion on innovation at ASC15, said the question was akin to asking which “is my...

Air University’s newly created Air Force Cyber College at Maxwell AFB, Ala., is expanding in an effort to teach airmen how to better protect networks, the university’s Commander Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast said at ASC15. The college was created this...

The first ever master sergeant promotion board worked very well, chief master sergeants said Monday during a panel at ASC15. There was a lot of apprehension going into the board, and “we learned some things along the way,” but overall...

Allied air forces leaders are placing too much emphasis on technology and hardware and not enough on doctrine and effects, Royal Norwegian Air Force Col. John Andreas Olsen said at ASC15 on Monday. “We invest in fifth generation aircraft, but...

The Air Force must continue to be more aware of the ever-growing demand for energy and its fuel efficient methods, said a panel of Air Force energy experts at ASC15. The service spends nearly “$9 billion [a year] on energy,”...

USAID responds to about 70 calls for assistance from countries hit by natural disasters or other situations where they need help. For approximately every tenth instance, the agency calls on the Defense Department. The military’s role when called includes airlift...