The need for global precision attack “has not diminished,” according to Gen. William Fraser, Air Combat Command commander. Enemies have adapted to the capabilities of the Air Force “and will continue to adapt,” Fraser told attendees at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition in Orlando, Fla., Thursday. Current bombers are aging and “increasingly at risk” against modern air defenses, which is why the new long-range, penetrating bomber program is critical, he said. It will be the centerpiece of a program combining “integrated strike, [intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance], electronic attack, [and] command and control,” he said. The new bomber will carry the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, JASSM cruise missile, Small Diameter Bomb, and, in the future, directed energy weapons, he said.
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…