Daily Report

Britain is reducing its planned buy of Lockheed Martin F-35 strike fighters and will forgo the F-35B short takeoff variant in favor of procuring solely the F-35C naval model, state the findings of that nation's new strategic defense and security review released Tuesday. Neither the review nor British government officials discussing it on Tuesday specified the reduced inventory size. Previously Britain had plans to acquire up to 138 F-35s. Abandoning the F-35B is tied to the decision to install catapult and arrestor gear on the Royal Navy's two future aircraft carriers to enable longer range power projection. That "will allow us to switch to the more capable [F-35C] carrier variant," reads the review. With this move, Britain will operate "a single" F-35 model, "instead of different land and naval variants," reads the document. A spokeswoman with the British embassy in Washington, D.C., confirmed to the Daily Report that both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy will operate the F-35C. Stay tuned for more SDSR coverage. (SDSR full text; caution; large file.) (British MOD release) (See also BBC report)

Members of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing’s Det. 1, operating from an undisclosed air base in Southwest Asia, recently loaded five mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles, or M-ATVs, on a C-17 bound for Afghanistan. These were the last of the more...

Perhaps, the biggest "secret" of the Air Force's KC-X tanker contest is that the KC-X could end up being the only new aerial refueling aircraft that USAF ends up getting, writes Rebecca Grant, president of IRIS Independent Research, in her new white paper, "Nine Secrets of the Tanker War." The chances of fully replacing the aged tanker fleet via a second and third phase of recapitalization dubbed KC-Y and KC-Z, respectively, "aren't too good," given factors like the Air Force's track record in recent times for restocking its aircraft types in inadequate numbers, she contends. "In that case," she asserts, "it's essential to get KC-X right." Among the other "secrets": the KC-X program will be good for the US aerospace industry, no matter if Boeing or EADS North America wins; the losing bidder will not go under; and fuel offload matters. Above all, "The time for KC-X is now," writes Grant, who is also director of AFA's Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies and a frequent contributor to Air Force Magazine. (IRIS release)

Roy Completes Africa Trip CMSAF James Roy made stops in Botswana, Djibouti, and Senegal during a trip to Africa to meet with military leaders in those nations as part of US Africa Command’s and 17th Air Force’s outreach activities on...

The Air Force is leveraging the experiences of certifying its first alternative aviation fuel blend as it embarks on approving additional mixtures for the fleet. “We are taking advantage of lessons learned from the Fischer-Tropsch certification program,” Jeff Braun, who...

The Air Force is looking to use alternative aviation fuel mixtures that contain up to 50 percent biomass-derived fuel or synthetic fuel in combination with 50 percent traditional JP-8 fuel, says Jeff Braun, alternative fuels certification office director at Wright-Patterson...

When a lone KC-135 returned home to Grand Forks AFB, N.D., earlier this month after a stint in Southwest Asia, it completed the last-ever Stratotanker deployment for the 319th Air Refueling Wing. After flying KC-135s for 50 years, the wing...

Air Force Reserve Command’s 419th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, has opened a new heritage park on the base to honor the wing’s 60-year history. About 1,000 wing personnel gathered earlier this month to dedicate the park, which includes...

Pratt & Whitney has announced that its F135 propulsion system has successfully completed an exceedingly demanding thermal test that is part of its qualification process for powering the F-35 strike fighter’s short takeoff/vertical landing variant. The test, which took place...

Work has begun to restore the Vietnam War-era De Havilland C-7A and Martin EB-57B aircraft normally on display at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Restoration crews are repainting the C-7A—it spent years outdoors...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Oct. 13, 2010 Sortie Type OND OEF OND/OEF Total YTD ISR 22 70 92 21,373 CAS/Armed Recon 12 97 109 27,842 Airlift 166 166 49,632 Air refueling 48 48 13,855 Rescue 35 35 6,346 Total...