Daily Report

Aug. 21, 2013

Leaning on Allies and Embracing New Partners

JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii—During his visit here on Monday and Tuesday as part of his broader tour of the Asia-Pacific region, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh—as well as senior Pacific Air Forces leaders—emphasized the importance of close cooperation with...

Balance in the Rebalance

Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan said China doesn’t have a problem with the US military’s rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, per se, as long as this strategy is not overly focused on China. “It is our hope that this...

D.C.-Beijing Shuttle

In addition to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh’s scheduled visit to China in September, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno is expected to visit China by year’s end. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made that announcement during...

Northrop Grumman’s Unmanned Crystal Ball

Northrop Grumman sees unmanned fighters, submarines, combat vehicles, and a bevy of commercial applications for future unmanned systems, and believes it’s well-positioned to be the world leader in the field, said Tom Vice, president of the company’s aerospace systems sector,...

What’s Really Hard

US defense and industry officials greeted the autonomous launch and landing of Northrop Grumman’s X-47B unmanned aircraft demonstrator on the deck of an aircraft carrier earlier this year as significant aviation milestones. But they weren’t really the hard part, said...

U-2s Receive Modifications to Counter the Bends

The Air Force has implemented modifications to its U-2 high-altitude surveillance aircraft to help eliminate the risk of decompression sickness among the pilots, according to officials at Beale AFB, Calif., home of the U-2 fleet. The Cockpit Altitude Reduction Effort,...

BACN Surpasses 50,000 Flight Hours

The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, a suite of information-relaying equipment carried on a small fleet of E-11A jets and EQ-4B Global Hawks, surpassed 50,000 total flight hours of use, according to a release. The Air Force reached this milestone with...

Feeling Wright at Home

F-16s from the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180 Fighter Wing in Toledo are temporarily operating from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, while workers repair the runway at their home station, according to a release. The F-16s arrived at Wright-Patt...