Daily Report

The new B-21 bomber will be named the “Raider,” in honor of the Doolittle Raiders of World War II. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, speaking at ASC16, called 101-year-old last surviving Doolittle Raider Lt. Col. Dick Cole to the...

The Air Force’s modernization programs are well laid-out for the first of the next three five-year plans, but problems begin to arise in the “second and third” of those, Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, USAF director of strategic planning. Holmes, who...

Although Air Force requirements since 2010 have called for “80-100” B-21s, the actual number will most likely be more than that, Air Force Global Strike Command chief Gen. Robin Rand said at ASC16. During a panel discussion about the B-21—newly...

The B-21 program has been “up and running” since February, when Boeing’s protest of the award to Northrop Grumman was resolved, Randall Warren, head of USAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office, said in a panel discussion about the bomber at ASC16. Warren,...

Gen. Robin Rand said Monday his status as a four-star general allows him more access to Air Force leadership and combatant commanders than prior Air Force Global Strike commanders might have had. “I do think that has happened in the...

The B-1’s deployment to Guam will allow the Lancer crews to practice more missions in the “power projection arena,” Air Force Global Strike Command boss Gen. Robin Rand said Monday at ASC16. It’s important for bombers in the conventional role...

Lockheed Martin’s T-50A entrant in the T-X competition is “nothing new” and meets all the Air Force’s needs with little development, program chief test pilot “Red” Ward told reporters at ASC16. The T-50A, which is “a Lockheed airplane through and...

To correct the existing and deepening fighter pilot shortage, Air Education and Training Command is taking two F-16 squadrons freed up by the arrival of F-35s at Hill AFB, Utah, to train more pilots, Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft, AETC director...

The air operations center of the future must evolve to include multi-domain operations, including space and cyberspace, to be able to provide “on demand” targeting instead of the archaic air tasking order system the Air Force has been used to....

The integration of space and cyber has completely changed the nature of warfare, but the Air Force needs to do a better job at multi-domain command and control, said Lt. Gen. Jay Raymond, deputy chief of staff for operations on...

Because the Air Force will not receive its full complement of 350 T-X trainers until 2034, another tranche of T-38 aircraft will be modified and re-winged under a program dubbed Pacer Classic III, Air Education and Training Command plans and...

The technology exists to protect Air Force Global Strike Command’s infrastructure from unmanned aircraft systems, but legislation and coordination with numerous agencies will be needed to deploy those capabilities, Gen. Robin Rand said Monday during ASC16. “Do we need to...

The US has lost track of Russia’s operational and tactical capabilities at a time where the country has shown that the use of its military to impact change in the region is on the table, the former head of US...

The first F-35 basic course students to come straight out of undergraduate pilot training will start coursework in December, Air Education and Training Command chief Gen. Darryl Roberson told reporters at ASC16. He also said the first instructors from foreign...

The Air Force is looking to consolidate its training of battlefield airmen from eight bases now to “something less,” likely three or four locations, Air Education and Training Command chief Gen. Darryl Roberson told reporters at ASC16. Roberson said that...

The ability of USAF to collaborate with allies, industry, academia, and other services around a unified space mission is gaining momentum, according to a panel on interoperability in space at ASC16. Thanks in part to “strong global partnerships and alliances,”...

While NATO countries have an edge on the quality of air assets, especially the fifth generation F-35, there is a concern about the overall number of high quality aircraft the countries are acquiring, the head of one European air force...

Air Force leadership wants to cut the amount of time airmen spend on ancillary training along with the time they spend on additional duties, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said Monday at ASC16. Goldfein said he believes the a?mount...

In order to address challenges from cybersecurity to the pilot shortage, the Air Force is employing an educational strategy known as “chunk education,” said Gen. Steven L. Kwast, Commander and President of Air University. This model of “just in time...

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said there were four issues that still concerned him when he retired in July. Speaking at ASC16, Breedlove said there are some members of NATO that are protected by Article V,...

The US needs to seriously think about how it apportions its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to ensure that all combatant commands get what they need, even though the vast majority of ISR is focused on the Middle East. Retired...

The coalition victory over Iraqi forces in 1991’s Operation Desert Storm was a watershed moment for joint military operations in the modern era, and though today’s conflicts may appear different in scope and scale, there are many lessons to apply,...

NATO air forces are continuing to focus on how they can integrate fourth and fifth generation aircraft, from multiple countries, to ensure they can fight together as an alliance or coalition. NATO countries have been forced to “scrutinize each and...

Industry leaders in vertical lift technology agreed that budgetary limits and lack of efficiency in the acquisitions process is keeping USAF from deploying advanced technology. At ASC16, Keith Flail, vice president for military business development at Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.,...

A hacking competition held by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in August showed that automated cyber defenses are needed to protect Pentagon networks, the agency’s deputy director said Monday at ASC16. “What was clear after that competition is that...