Gen. Paul V. Hester, Pacific Air Forces commander, today told reporters at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium that PACAF expects to receive its first F-22 in 2008 or 2009. The tiny size of the fleet (now only 183) means the command...

Gen. Ronald Keys, Air Combat Command chief, said today that ACC wants to see even further reductions in its infrastructure, taking the cuts well beyond what came out of the most recent round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Keys...

Other countries have figured out that the combat edge of the Air Force is as much in its training as its equipment; maybe more, Keys asserted. As a result, countries “that are not our allies…are starting to train like us.”...

Gen. Ronald Keys, Air Combat Command chief, says the B-52 Standoff Jammer sounded like a good idea at the time, but has proven tough in the details. “If it was so easy, we would have done it years ago,” Keys...

Keys said the F-22 could be a prodigy in electronic attack. Not only will it be in the vicinity of enemy radars, it will have a lot of raw power to jam, and in the future could be used to...

The Air Force was enamored of buying some of the short takeoff/vertical landing version of the F-35, Keys said, but has lost some of its ardor for the idea. While the aircraft would have been useful for deployment to short...

The Pentagon today released its final report (get it here) on the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, which began more than a year ago and took many strange twists and turns. We note that it keeps intact the much-maligned “two-war” force-sizing...

Wrapping up the speaker panel at the Air Warfare Symposium, Air Force Space Command Commander Gen. Lance Lord today gave his take on the role of Air Force spacepower in the operations of an interdependent force. From taking the “’search’...

At the AFA symposium, General Lance Lord took time to dump cold water on rumors that DOD might strip the Air Force of its current control and management of the Global Positioning System space constellation. “I don’t think that is...

The Air Force has a problem within the nation’s intelligence community, Gen. Michael V. Hayden today told AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. Hayden, deputy director of national intelligence and the nation’s highest-ranking uniformed intelligence official, said that there are currently no...

Hayden said the intelligence problem manifests itself at a lower level as well. Some Air Force intelligence officers are grumbling about a lack of advancement opportunities, with a perception that no one can get beyond 0-6. This has an element...

Air Force Reserve Command officials have decided to move up by one year the shift of resources from its unit in New Orleans. Under BRAC 2005 AFRC had until 2007 to move the A-10 attack aircraft and personnel from the...

While much has been written about the funding jitters of the coalition partner countries involved in the Joint Strike Fighter, BAE officials tell us that the first Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing F-35 components are being produced at the company’s Samlesbury, U.K....

The PACAF Commander, Gen. Paul V. Hester, is excited with the new assets rotating into his AOR – particularly the Global Hawk which he confessed to the AFA audience he’s fallen in love with. “I will take a heck of...

Gen. William T. Hobbins, the new USAFE commander, told the AFA audience that a series of joint centers has been created. A joint fires center was established to train Europe-based personnel in demanding air control/air support procedures. A joint airpower...

The Quadrennial Defense Review—which DOD made available online today (see QDR item above) even though its not going to Congress until Feb. 6—considers how the Pentagon should help China recognize when to stop growing its military, said Ryan Henry, a...

The QDR emphasizes horizontal integration of capabilities and knowledge, and the elimination of unnecessary duplication of effort, both within USAF and among the services, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said Thursday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. He said that it...

The flip side of all this is what Wynne called “the wear-out factor.” It’s not known what the long-term implications are of using all of the force at a higher rate. One thing’s for sure, though, said Wynne, “We are...

Wynne promised a “holistic evaluation” of the benefits of re-engining large chunks of the Air Force’s 707-derived fleet of aircraft. The E-3 AWACS and the E-8 Joint STARS, in particular, need new engines for performance and power generation. Wynne said...

Gen. Michael Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff, said that it is useful to keep USAF’s abilities in mind. “What does an air and space force do?” he rhetorically asked at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium Thursday. As the service’s leaders...

Former Air Force missileers gathered at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., earlier this week to commemorate the first launch of a Minuteman ICBM—45 years ago. The first Minuteman, launched from Complex 31, lifted off from the Cape on Feb. 1, 1961.

According to the latest Gallup Poll, there has been little change in American public opinion over the war in Iraq, to wit, political persuasion rules the day. Most Republicans approve of President Bush’s handling of the war, while Democrats overwhelming...

Officials say the follow-up test of NORAD’s ability to provide protection to Sunday’s Super Bowl football game was “successful.” The first exercise was called due to bad weather. Now, officials say they are satisfied command assets can “ensure the highest...

February 1, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 15 6 – 21 CAS/Armed Recon 56 16 – 72 Airlift – – 180 180 Air refueling – – 36 36 Total 71 22 216 309 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...