Daily Report

Nov. 22, 2010

F-22 Pilot Did Not Survive Crash

Capt. Jeffrey Haney, a pilot with the 525th Fighter Squadron at JB Elmendorf, Alaska, is presumed to have died in the crash of his F-22 on Nov. 16 about 100 miles north of Anchorage during a nighttime training mission, according...

No KC-X Selection This Year

The Air Force will not be in the position to award the KC-X tanker contract until early 2011, putting off the selection of either Boeing or EADS North America as the tanker supplier that USAF and Pentagon officials expected to...

Space Systems Among Top USAF Investments

Three of the Air Force’s top eight investments in terms of pure dollars are space programs, according to Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. They are the Space-Based Infrared System, Global Positioning System, and the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, Schwartz...

Schwartz says ORS is Future Efficiency Model

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said the Pentagon’s operationally response space activities are setting the stage for future interoperability between satellite buses and payloads as well as space launch vehicles and appropriate command and control capabilities. Defense...

Developing Cyber Liaisons

: US Cyber Command and 24th Air Force are working to build cyber awareness and connectivity across the Air Force and with the combatant commanders, said Maj. Gen. Richard Webber, 24th AF commander. The goal is to develop a “cyber...

Balance of Power

While the development of nuclear power in Iran has drawn increased worldwide scrutiny, former Air Force Secretary Thomas Reed said Iran is not the only nation in the Persian Gulf capable of pursuing nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia, he told attendees...

F-35 Lot 4 Contract Let

The Defense Department last week awarded Lockheed Martin a $3.5 billion contract for 31 F-35 strike fighters and associated equipment. This contract covers the F-35’s Lot 4 low-rate initial production. It is also notable because it represents the first fixed-price-incentive...

Global Strike Challenge Concludes

Air Force Global Strike Command’s Global Strike Challenge has concluded, with presentation of trophies to the winning units last week at Barksdale AFB, La. The 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo., took the Fairchild Trophy for top bomb wing...

First AWACS Enters Block 40/45 Upgrade

The first Air Force E-3 Sentry slated for upgrade to the Block 40/45 standard last week ceremoniously entered Oklahoma City’s Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla. Technicians will install the new Block 40/45 equipment there during the aircraft’s programmed...

Heavy Lifting USAF-less

For the first time since its standup in July 2009, the Strategic Airlift Capability's Heavy Airlift Wing at Papa AB, Hungary, staged a C-17 combat mission last week with an all-international crew and no US Air Force personnel onboard. "To outside observers, this mission looks like any mission we have flown in our short history," said USAF Col. John Zazworsky, HAW commander, in a Papa release. But to those involved with the 12-nation wing, "this mission is a significant milestone" since it demonstrated the multinational unit's continuing maturity, he added. The crew for the historic flight was made up of three Swedes, two Norwegians, one Bulgarian, and one Pole. These airmen moved cargo to Afghanistan for ISAF. On this same Nov. 18 mission, their aircraft became the first of the HAW's three C-17s to amass more than 1,000 total flight hours. Overall, the wing's three C-17s have flown for nearly 2,800 hours.

Air Sorties in SWA 111410

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Nov. 14, 2010 Sortie Type OND OEF OND/OEF Total YTD ISR 21 80 101 24,292 CAS/Armed Recon 14 84 98 31,215 Airlift 155 155 55,302 Air refueling 53 53 15,456 Rescue 39 39 7,241 Total...