Daily Report

May 19, 2010

The Big Guns Come Out

The Big Guns Come Out: The Obama Administration sent its top diplomat and military leadership to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to make the unified case for Senate ratification of the New START arms control agreement with Russia. “The choice before...

Less Nuclear B-52Hs

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the US intends to retain “all 18” operational B-2A bombers, but will convert some B-52Hs to a conventional-only role under the planned changes in nuclear force posture...

Lightning Strikes Twice at Edwards

AF-1 and AF-2, two F-35A test aircraft, flew nonstop Monday from Lockheed Martin’s aircraft plant in Fort Worth, Tex., to Edwards AFB, Calif., completing the historic first multi-ship, long-range flight in the F-35’s history, according to the company. The arrival...

Capturing the Essence

The Air Force is formulating new terminology to more accurately reflect the capabilities resident on a given orbit of remotely piloted aircraft than the current stock phrase “combat air patrol” can convey. “The current CAP terminology only relates to the...

Building a Formidable Reaper Force

The Air Force currently has 44 MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft in its inventory and has received funding through Fiscal 2010 to procure an additional 57 production-version MQ-9s, service spokesman Maj. Richard Johnson tells the Daily Report. As part of...

Signaling Intent

A permanent fix is being distributed to resolve the software glitch that left some military equipment unable to lock onto Global Positioning System navigation signals after the Air Force updated GPS ground control software back in January. The Associated Press...

Getting Ready to Scram

Air Force officials are preparing to conduct the maiden free flight of the first X-51A hypersonic air vehicle as early as May 25 from Edwards AFB, Calif. A B-52 will release the expendable X-51 over the Pacific Ocean. Spaceflight Now...

PACAF Completes Exercise in Vietnam

Pacific Angel 2010, this year’s iteration of Pacific Air Forces annual humanitarian-assistance exercise, concluded Monday in Tan Thoi, Vietnam. During the week-long event, more than 50 US military personnel, working alongside Vietnamese military members and officials with non-governmental and civil...

C-17 Supports Tajikistan Relief

An Air Force C-17 transport operating with the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, on May 16 delivered approximately 100,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies to Kulob, Tajikistan, following two weeks of flooding and mudslides in...

In Hind-Sight

Maj. Caleb Nimmo, an Air Force advisor to the Afghan National Army Air Corps, has become the first US pilot to fly a Russian-built Mi-35 attack helicopter in combat, according to a NATO Training Mission Afghanistan release May 16. Details...

Air Sorties from SWA 051210

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, May 12, 2010 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 48 73 8,242 CAS/Armed Recon 18 91 109 12,314 Airlift 186 186 22,568 Air refueling 49 49 5,683 Rescue 38 38 2,058 Total...