Now, the Predator Four-Ship: The Air Force now has tested whether a single pilot can simultaneously control four Predator unmanned aerial vehicles in flight. The answer: Yes, he (or she) can do it. The technology needed to perform this UAV...

Hurricane Rita SAR Mission Goes on Standby: Air Force search and rescue crews working relief efforts after Hurricane Rita have stopped flying pre-planned sorties to find victims, but they are still waiting in the wings should they be needed. The...

A Defense Authorization Bill …. Is That Asking Too Much?: Well, it looks like the answer is “yes.” According to Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), the issue of whether the full Senate takes up the 2006 defense authorization measure is “not...

Senate defense appropriators, who are supposed to wait for the authorizers to act before writing their “money bill,” finally gave up and approved a spending bill of $440 billion for 2006. They were holding off to see whether the Senate...

Space Takes Big Hits: The defense appropriators took aim at key space programs, cutting nearly $500 million from USAF research & development programs. The reductions include: • $250 million from the Transformational Satellite Communications program for concerns over technical maturity.”...

Appropriators also cut a major chunk—$270 million—out of R&D for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. They cited “instability in the aircraft’s design” as the chief problem.

Speaking of Chinese Elephants: The House Armed Services Committee continued its so-called “Committee Defense Review” Tuesday with a Capitol Hill hearing on Asia. The witnesses invited by the CDR’s “Threat Panel” didn’t take long to address the elephant in the...

Asked what kind of military the US should have available in the region, the three Asian policy experts replied that there was a need for a mobile presence—carrier battle groups and amphibious capabilities. They also noted the recent improvements in...

Chalk One Up for the Missile Defense Program: The Missile Defense Agency tested USAF’s Cobra Dane Radar at Shemya, Alaska, in conjunction with the fire control system for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense element. An Air Force C-17 airlifter flying over...

House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Tex.) is not participating in the President Bush roundup to lasso a greater role in natural disaster response for the Pentagon. He flatly told the Associated Press, “I don’t want the federal government to take...

The Pentagon is heading up and moving out on whether such a role would be legal. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) said he spoke on Monday with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who told him the matter “is being carefully reviewed,” according...

Seeking the “Automatic Trigger:” Whitehouse Press Secretary Scott McClellan explained to reporters Monday that the President wants a “robust discussion” with Congress on whether the nation should have “some sort of automatic trigger” that would put the military immediately in...

Will Reason Prevail?: House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) is on board, if not leading, the bandwagon to look for cuts in the federal budget to pay for this year’s hurricane disaster relief, which, he says, “has dwarfed all...

The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, has unveiled an exhibit showcasing the accomplishments of “Wild Weasels” during the Vietnam War. It contains an F-104G Thunderchief, an SA-2 SAM with launcher, and various Weasel artifacts. Read...

The entry portal for airmen assigned to South Korea changes Thursday from Osan Air Base to Incheon International Airport at Seoul, said USAF officials. To get from the airport to the base, airmen and family members—except pets—likely will use local...

The Texas Adjutant General, Army Gen. Charles Rodriquez, awarded an Army Commendation Medal to MSgt. Lynn Bailey, fuels superintendent for the Texas Air National Guard’s 147th Fighter Wing, for speedy delivery of diesel fuel to 130 buses stranded with thousands...

September 26, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 5 – 15 CAS/Armed Recon 29 26 – 55 Airlift – – 160 160 Air refueling – – 32 32 Total 39 31 192 262 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...