Daily Report

May 8, 2014

A-10 Defenders Launch Assault on USAF

The Air Force’s proposal to divest the A-10 fleet came under renewed attack Wednesday as the House Armed Services Committee began marking up its version of the defense authorization bill. Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) confirmed he and Rep. Vicky Hartzler...

Amending the Mark

The House Armed Services Committee considered a host of amendments during its mark-up of the Fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill Wednesday, including some addressing Air Force capabilities and the need to balance readiness. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) offered an amendment...

Fanning the Flames of Instability

The US remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution to Russian aggression in Ukraine, though officials are disappointed that Russia continues to stoke unrest in the region, Secretary of State John Kerry said. “If Russian elements continue to sabotage the...

Aussie’s Lightning Lead

The Royal Australian Air Force will be the first international F-35A Lightning II partner to train pilots at the new F-35 formal training unit at Luke AFB, Ariz. “We are really pleased to come in and be the first partner...

Turkey Cements First F-35 Order

Turkey’s defense ministry placed a firm order for the first two F-35A Lightning IIs for the Turkish air force, the country’s government announced. “Turkey continues her forecast of the acquisition of 100 F-35A aircraft as planned and declared previously,” according...

Raptor Maturation

Col. David Piffarerio, Maj. Jonathan Gration, Maj. Ryan Pelkola, and Maj. Chad Newkirk made history last week as they flew “the most experienced four-ship flight in the history of the F-22, according to a May 6 release. The pilots, who...

Fourth SBIRS Assembly Begins

Lockheed Martin began assembling the fourth Space Based Infrared System geosynchronous satellite after finishing its propulsion unit, the company announced on May 6. “This is a significant production milestone for the fourth GEO satellite,” said Jeffrey Smith, company vice president...

USAFA Team Takes Top Prize in DARPA Competition

A distributed propulsion engine designed by US Air Force Academy cadets won a DOD research competition for the most innovative project to address warfighter challenges. The competition, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, asked teams from the mechanical...