Daily Report

Sept. 26, 2011

New START’s Phantom Drawdown Nears

The Air Force anticipates beginning soon the process of eliminating out-of-service B-52 bombers and Peacekeeper ICBM silos so that they are not counted against the allowable US launcher totals under the New START agreement with Russia. “The treaty calls for...

Still on the Table

The Air Force hasn’t ruled out yet that it will inactivate one of its nine Minuteman III ICBM squadrons when it reduces the size of its ICBM force to meet the force levels established in the Obama Administration’s nuclear force...

Carter Gets Senate Nod

The Senate last week unanimously confirmed Ash Carter as the next deputy defense secretary. Carter, who has been the Pentagon’s acquisition executive since April 2009, will replace Bill Lynn, who is stepping down after serving in the Defense Department’s No....

Factor Capability and Capacity

Cuts to the Air Force’s structure and programs must be placed in the context of a strategy, warned two Air Force major command bosses. “I look at capability and capacity,” said Gen. Raymond Johns, head of Air Mobility Command, last...

AFRC Reorganizes Numbered Air Forces by Role

Air Force Reserve Command is restructuring its three numbered air forces by functional area by shifting four flying wings, one flying group, and seven smaller units by Oct. 1. “The realignments give each NAF a distinct mission set, enabling them...

Rattle and Dissuade

Diversity remains key in the US nuclear deterrent and the Air Force’s nuclear-capable bombers and ICBMs will be just as important, if not more so, in the future, said Ronald Lehman, director of the Center for Global Security Research at...

Phoenix Raven Course Hits Milestone

The 2,000th security forces airman recently graduated the Air Force Expeditionary Center’s specialized Phoenix Raven aircraft-protection course at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Trained to defend aircraft and crews on the ground in high-threat environments, Raven teams undergo two weeks of focused...

High-Powered Microwave Weapon Tested

Boeing and the Air Force Research Lab earlier this year successfully completed the first flight test of the CHAMP missile, a new high-powered microwave weapon, at the Utah Test and Training Range, according to prime contractor Boeing. “It was as...