Daily Report

July 10, 2013

And Then There were Four

The fourth on-orbit GPS IIF navigation satellite is now operating as part of the Air Force’s GPS constellation, announced Boeing, the satellite’s manufacturer, on Tuesday. Launched into space on May 15, Air Force operators set the spacecraft to healthy status...

Pentagon Releases First Annual Report on Defense Acquisition

Over the past two decades, the Air Force has been able to reduce total cost growth on contracts and also decrease schedule growth in its contracts, said Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s acquisition executive. Further, fixed-price contracting has proven not to...

Change of Command at Bagram

Brig. Gen. Patrick Malackowski became the commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, during a change-of-command ceremony, according to a base release. Malackowski took the command reins on July 8 from Brig. Gen. Joseph Guastella, who...

C-130s Battle Arizona Wildfires

Specially configured C-130s and aircrews from the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing and Wyoming Air Guard’s 153rd AW are replacing their counterparts from the California Air Guard’s 146th AW and Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd AW in...

A Day in the Life

Members of the 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, last month discovered an improvised explosive device during a patrol outside the wire, and their vigilance likely saved the lives of coalition personnel, according to a base release....

Flight Engineer Reaches 400th Combat Sortie

MSgt. Brian Fahey, KC-10 flight engineer with the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, flew his 400th combat sortie, a rare feat for an airman in his field, according to a release. Fahey, who is deployed to an undisclosed air base...

Rolls-Royce Brings the HEETE

Rolls-Royce announced on Tuesday it’s wrapped testing of a new aircraft engine compressor at an Air Force Research Lab facility in Dayton, Ohio. The company is maturing this technology under AFRL’s Highly Energy Efficient Turbine Engine program. The testing validated...

GAO: Titanium Aircraft Component Makers Still Competitive

While industry consolidation and the management of titanium sourcing are factors that could hurt US aircraft component manufacturers’ ability to compete for Defense Department contracts, the manufacturers have yet to experience a major negative impact, announced Government Accountability Office auditors....

AFA Launches New Website

The Air Force Association unveiled its new website (www.afa.org), a total redesign that provides a more user-friendly and interactive experience for AFA members, field leaders, educators, corporate partners, and the media. “We are aiming to make afa.org a more useful...