The Pentagon is issuing Program Budget Decisions based on the final decisions of the Quadrennial Defense Review, which officials expect to go to the printer on Jan. 7. It’s not pretty for the Air Force rank and file or some...

The Number of F/A-22s Set at 183: USAF officials say the QDR will limit F/A-22 Raptor production to 183 aircraft (number corrected from 185 following official USAF briefing on 12/13/05). They plan to extend the production line—allowing a peak rate...

The Air Force version of the F-35, which had been considered a goner in recent weeks, was spared the hatchet. Pentagon officials agreed that they could derive no appreciable savings by eliminating the conventional takeoff and landing version. USAF officials...

No more than 180 C-17s figure in the QDR, say senior USAF officials. How that will play against the push by Congress to up the number by 42 is unclear at this time. Air Force officials plan to investigate how...

A “go” from the QDR is pursuit of a replacement aerial tanker, although the program may not get a formal launch until 2007. The Air Force is leaning toward a combination tanker/cargo aircraft, not unlike the KC-10, which could swing...

The Air Force will be limited to just one E-10 next-generation intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance airplane to test new technology, notably new radars. Senior service officials believe any idea of taking the program operational is kaput. (Read our article on battlespace awareness here and how the E-10 program demise evolved here.) There is discussion of the Air Force hitching a ride on the Navy’s new 737-derived multimission maritime reconnaissance aircraft, instead. USAF’s Airborne Laser attack aircraft—currently being managed by the Missile Defense Agency—also will be put on a back burner, remaining, at most, a technology demonstrator. (Read our 2003 article here for background; a defense of the program here; and current comments here.)

Senior USAF officials say they have a green light to pursue an unmanned, intercontinental strike aircraft that will complement the existing fleet of bombers. The new aircraft will be built in small numbers, but will be fast, and keep the...

Apparently the QDR is nonspecific, so far, about how many new C-130J Hercules the Air Force will be able to buy. Officials say the service may get 75, although they admit this is one of the squishier QDR conclusions. Also...

We reported on recent discussion about the new Combat Search and Rescue aircraft (currently CSAR-X); there is also need to replace the CSAR HC-130 tanker fleet. (DR 12/07/05) Air Force Special Operations Command is working on a proposal for the...

A routine operational readiness inspection exercise took an unexpected turn into a real search and rescue mission, when an E-8 Joint STARS crew with the 116th Air Control Wing, Robins AFB, Ga., was diverted to help with the rescue of...

Air Force Space Command’s 76th Helicopter Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, Calif., has been working with US Northern Command’s Joint Task Force-North in its effort to seize approximately $294 billion worth of marijuana. The NORTHCOM-run JTF-N, operating out of Ft. Bliss, Tex.,...

The US Air Force is keeping up its airlift relief efforts for the Pakistan earthquake recovery operations. From Dec. 2-9, five USAF C-130s and one contracted B-747 flew in more than 72,000 pounds of medical supplies and equipment, aircraft parts,...

The radar analysts of the 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron at McChord AFB, Wash., recently aided the rescue of two survivors of a glider crash. The pilot and student of a sailplane crashed in the remote southern California San Gabriel Mountains....

Col. Wilfred B. Crutchfield and Lt. Col. Ivan E. O’Dell received full military honors at their burial in Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 7—37 years after their T-33 Shooting Star crashed into Mount Rainier on a flight back to McChord...

Two airmen from the 509th Security Forces Squadron, Whiteman AFB, Mo., recently received Army Commendation medals for their actions while deployed to Ali Base, Iraq, for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Capt. Peter Lex was cited for the interview of an Iraqi...

SSgt. Jonta L. Paten put his rope and high-angle rescue training to work when he aided Prince George Country (Md.) firefighters bring down electrical engineer Josh Vinson from atop a 200-foot water tower on Andrews AFB, Md. Vinson was conducting...

Air National Guard SSgt. Michael Bohannon received the Bronze Star for actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was lead gun truck gunner for convoys. Bohannon served with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division from February to July 2004, when he...

Sitting in an isolated, small facility on Balad AB, Iraq, are airmen of the Combined Enroute Radar Approach (CERAP) who maintain air traffic—military and civilian—in central Iraq. The enlisted controllers man their radar scopes on two-hour shifts, handling more than...

USAF Predator MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicles fired their Hellfire missiles at real-time targets last week near Rawah in Iraq, striking enemy IED locations each time.

Three airmen from Pope AFB, N.C., received Army Commendation Medals for their work during the last Joint Forcible Entry Exercise, the largest in seven years, said Army officials. The airmen are: TSgt. Joe Thornton, 3rd Aerial Port Squadron; SSgt. Marc...

USAF officials say military members and civilian employees have the option in 2006 to contribute up to $15,000 to their Thrift Savings Plan accounts. There are also periods in which personnel may “catch-up” their payments: for civilians the period begins...

Enlisted Force Gains Entry to Joint PME: DOD leadership has seen the light and now will provide joint professional military education opportunities for enlisted members. It took two years of planning, but the new policy directs each service to include...

December 8, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 6 – 16 CAS/Armed Recon 34 20 – 54 Airlift – – 150 150 Air refueling – – 36 36 Total 44 26 186 256 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...