Daily Report

EADS North America has announced that it won’t protest the Air Force’s award of the KC-X tanker contract to Boeing. The Air Force ran an “extremely professional” and “scrupulous” competition, Ralph Crosby, EADS North America chairman, told reporters during a...

The Air Force has accomplished tremendous feats in supporting ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in roles like air mobility and overhead intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance, said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “Without all of the efforts and exertions of tens of thousands of...

The Air Force and its industry partners last week launched the second Boeing-built X-37B orbital test vehicle, OTV-2, into space on its inaugural mission. The reusable spaceplane lifted off from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas...

C-130J transports from the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany, joined Marine Corps KC-130s in airlifting more than 300 Egyptian citizens from Djerba, Tunisia, back home to Egypt. “Thank you for helping us in this difficult time. Our regards...

The Air Force last week received its 268th and final MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft from manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. “This event marks a milestone in Air Force history given the path this aircraft took from conception to operational...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Air Force Academy cadets that he doesn’t foresee any more major weapons program cancellations happening in the next year or two. “I think we’re in pretty good place right now because of the measures that...

The Air Force is using two C-5B and two C-5M transports operating out of Western Europe to help US Transportation Command move Army helicopters into Afghanistan and bring others back to the United States. The C-5s will haul more than...

Pratt & Whitney last week held a ceremony at its manufacturing facility in Middletown, Conn., to mark the completion of the first production-version JT8D-219 engine for the Air Force’s E-8C JSTARS ground-surveillance aircraft. The Air Force is mulling whether to...

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to award Civil Air Patrol veterans of World War II with a single Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service and sacrifices. “These individuals courageously answered the call of duty and...

Congress needs to “carefully monitor” the funds spent on service life extension programs, because “they alone are not fail-safe,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. For example, some of the service’s A-10Cs are...