Daily Report

The Air Force’s first Space Based Space Surveillance satellite is now on orbit and has transmitted its first signals from space, according to Air Force and industry officials. “The signals indicate that the satellite is functioning normally and is ready...

A T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft assigned to the 47th Flying Training Wing at Laughlin AFB, Tex., crashed Friday near the base during an undergraduate training sortie. The Del Rio News-Herald reported that witnesses saw both the student pilot and...

Officials at Tyndall AFB, Fla., last week inactivated the 95th Fighter Squadron, marking the formal end of F-15 training at the base after 27 years. Tyndall’s parent 325th Fighter Wing lost its 48 F-15s as part of the Air Force’s...

The Defense Department has notified Congress of the potential sale of 18 F-16 fighters and associated equipment and services to Iraq under a foreign military sale with a total value as high as $4.2 billion. “The proposed sale will allow...

More than 40 airmen and two C-130 transports from the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota AB, Japan, last week participated in Cope South 2010, a four-day exercise in Bangladesh. They trained with their Bangladesh air force counterparts at Kurmitola AB,...

Pratt & Whitney says it has demonstrated that the F-22’s F119 engine meets its operational service life requirements. Company officials said they successfully completed accelerated mission testing of an F119 production engine, simulating 15 years of operational service compressed into...

The Air National Guard’s 163rd Reconnaissance Wing at March ARB, Calif., has begun using Air Force Reserve Command-owned T-41C Cessnas to serve as chase aircraft to support its MQ-1 Predator training activities. Previously the wing was using civilian-contracted chase airplanes....

Air Force and Army medical officials last week formally christened the new Brooke Army Medical Center pediatric ward and intensive care unit on the grounds of Ft. Sam Houston, Tex., now a part of Joint Base San Antonio. These two...

Rescue airmen from the 23rd Wing at Moody AFB, Ga., recently completed a weeklong visit to Palanquero AB, Colombia, to share their knowledge with Colombian air force C-130 crews. This visit is one of US Southern Command’s partnership-capacity-building initiatives. During...

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki last week defended his recent decision to add heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and leukemia to the conditions that VA officials can presume Vietnam War veterans suffer as a result of Agent Orange exposure. Shinseki told...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Sept. 18, 2010 Sortie Type OND OEF OND/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 80 105 19,117 CAS/Armed Recon 12 124 136 25,231 Airlift 162 162 45,169 Air refueling 67 67 12,511 Rescue 23 23 5,729 Total...