Leap of Faith
Boeing said April 11 it is increasing to 30 the number of C-17 transport aircraft that it will continue building for now using its own funds in the absence of new contracts from the Air Force or international customers. The...
Super Growth
One of the numbers from the Department of Defense’s recently released selected acquisition report hasn’t been disseminated very much—the growth of the official program of record for the Air Force’s C-130J Super Hercules transport from 82 to 134 airframes. Program...
Wing Passes Fuel For First Time
The Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Wing out of Selfridge ANGB conducted its first-ever refueling mission April 12, marking a new chapter in the unit’s history since transitioning from C-130 transports to KC-135 tankers as part of BRAC 2005. The...
SBIRS Software Fix Gets Nod
Lockheed Martin said it has successfully completed the review with the Air Force of the software fixes it is making to the first Space Based Infrared System satellite, designated GEO-1. “The successful review is direct testimony to the joint team’s...
Happy Birthday
The Air Force Reserve celebrated its 60th anniversary April 14. Originally conceived as a pool of replacements during wartime mobilization, the Reserve has become more and more integrated with active duty forces to support missions at home and abroad, and...
Khe Sanh Veteran Back in Combat
The 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which has been supporting operations in Southwest Asia since February, recently added one more C-130 to its ranks: a 45-year-old C-130E known as Patches that arrived from Pope AFB, N.C. The aircraft, tail no. 62-1817,...
Viper Switch
The Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing is getting newer F-16s to replace its older ones. The Burlington Free Press reported April 14 that the wing’s 134th Fighter Squadron is exchanging its 25-year-old F-16s for airframes that are two...
DARPA Awards Vulture Work
Aurora Flight Sciences has been chosen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a high-flying unmanned aircraft that can stay aloft uninterrupted for up to five years to gather data and imagery and transmit communications, the company announced...
Air Sorties From SWA
Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaApril 11-12, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 48 22 70 2,760 CAS/Armed Recon 134 92 226 8,380 Airlift 316 316 12,466 Air refueling 98 98 3,834 Total 710 27,440...