Daily Report

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, said June 14 he doesn’t think Congress will allow sequestration to take effect; however, the bigger question is not whether such “draconian” cuts can be avoided, but how long legislators will...

An Air Force CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft crashed during a routine training mission on June 13 at the Eglin Range, north of Navarre, Fla., announced Air Force Special Operations Command officials Thursday. Emergency responders took five crew members from the...

As part of the KC-46A tanker program, the Air Force will pay for the development, fabrication, and test of an interim aircraft that Boeing hopes to market as a commercial product, according to service and company officials. In the tanker’s...

Sierra Nevada filed a suit in federal court to have the Air Force reinstate the $355 million Light Air Support contract that the company won last December, but the service subsequently withdrew. “[Sierra Nevada] does not have a history of...

Stripping the Defense Department of an additional $500 billion over the next 10 years through the Budget Control Act's sequestration mechanism could very well make the world a more dangerous place, said Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey June 13. "We can't yet say precisely how bad the damage would be, but it is clear that sequestration would risk hollowing out our force and reducing [the] military options available to the nation," Dempsey told the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel. He added, "We would go from being unquestionably powerful everywhere to being less visibly globally and presenting less of an overmatch to our adversaries. And that would translate into a different deterrent calculus and potentially, therefore, increase the likelihood of conflict." Dempsey said the Pentagon leadership carefully crafted DOD's $614 billion spending request for Fiscal 2013. He called the request "a comprehensive and carefully devised set of choices . . . that reflect the right mix among force structure, modernization, readiness, pay, and benefits." Sequestration, he said, "is absolutely certain to upend this balance." Testifying with Dempsey, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said sequestration would "inflict severe damage on our national defense." (Dempsey's prepared remarks) (Panetta's written testimony)

Bowling alleys and golf courses at Air Force installations may not be immune to budget cuts. In fact, such amenities might be up for closure in some cases. “In this fiscally constrained environment, commanders at all levels are evaluating program...

The Air Force has adjusted special duty assignment pay for some assignments to ensure airmen are only paid extra if their duties “are extremely difficult or involve an unusual degree of responsibility,” said MSgt. Robin Childers, Air Force Personnel Command...

More than one dozen South Korea-based Air Force F-16 fighters and some 150 airmen flew to Japan for two weeks of air-to-air combat drills, tangling with F-15s at Kadena Air Base, announced Kadena officials June 13. “This dissimilar air-to-air combat...

A lone 5th Bomb Wing B-52 Stratofortress launched on a 24-hour training sortie, striking simulated targets in France and Germany from its home station at Minot AFB, N.D., announced Minot officials. Refueling four times en-route, the B-52 dropped simulated joint...

The 317th Airlift Group at Dyess AFB, Tex., took delivery of its 20th C-130J Super Hercules transport. The aircraft flew in on June 12 from Lockheed Martin’s manufacturing plant in Marietta, Ga., according to a company release. This airframe is...

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev reiterated Russia’s commitment to developing a fifth generation strategic bomber, reported UPI. Medvedev made the comments on June 9 while visiting aviation manufacturing facilities in Kazan, Russia, according to UPI’s June 12 report that cites...