Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) promised to get to the bottom of DOD’s termination of the alternate F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine—kicking off the first of two hearings on the matter Tuesday afternoon. One of the first...

Responding this morning at a Capitol Hill seminar to a question about Britain’s unhappiness over the US decision to terminate one of the two F-35 engines, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said he’s not certain if the British are more...

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) does not believe the advantages of having an alternate F-35 engine outweigh the need to keep the Joint Strike Fighter cost in line and the program on schedule. Lieberman had support from JSF partner country—Australia. Rear...

The head of US Forces Korea, Army Gen. Burwell B. Bell, says that he envisions future “US military support to the alliance to be air and naval-centric.” Bell was explaining to lawmakers that the South Korean push toward an independent...

According to Army Gen. Burwell Bell, getting adequate air training space—particularly for air-to-ground training—is a key issue for US Forces Korea. Burwell, USFK leader, told the House Armed Services Committee last week, “We do not have the ranges that I...

During testimony on the 2007 budget, Air Force leaders have been using the term “Total Force” with an add-on “Integration.” It is the term for the service’s initiative to “provide America with a smaller, more capable, more affordable Air Force through new organizational constructs and a focus on Total Force across every emerging mission,” the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, Gen. John Corley, said at the first hearing of the new Commission on the Guard and Reserves. Corley explained that the Air Force had “perfected” the collaboration of its active, Guard, and Reserve components over the course of the 25-year existence of the phrase “Total Force.” Now, he said, the service is ready to “take it to the next level”—through TFI.

According to recent data, of some 33,000 airmen deployed to combatant commands, 4,000 are from the Air National Guard and 2,000 from Air Force Reserve Command—roughly 25 percent. At home, for Operation Noble Eagle, ANG and AFRC airmen have flown...

The Air Force plans to create a “new regional response capability” to handle support for natural disasters and homeland defense, Gen. John Corley, USAF Vice Chief of Staff, said last week at a reserve forces hearing. The new entity—a “combat...

The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Michael Mullen, wants to get the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “out and online.” He told defense reporters Tuesday morning that the F-35, which will replace the F/A-18, is crucial to the Navy’s future force....

Adm. Michael Mullen says the decision to terminate the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s alternate engine program—a decision that prompted Congress to hold special hearings this week—was a joint decision between the Navy and the Air Force. (OK, but according to...

Pssst, Admiral … Navy Is Buying Some Ospreys: Acquisition of 48 V-22 Ospreys probably could be considered a drop in the bucket compared to the 360 Ospreys the Marine Corps plans to purchase or to other Navy priorities, but should...

Airmen of the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE have turned their expertise to enhance the quality of life of soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division deployed near Hawijah, Iraq. The Air Force engineers have completed a new medical aid station, three...

The Associated Press reports that a US Air Force F-16 fighter crashed Tuesday morning off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. The pilot ejected safely, picked up by a rescue crew from the South Korean Air Force.

According to The Gallup Poll, the American opinion about the United Nations has gone down, actually “among the worst ever measured.” Historical data from 1953 show that about half the country thought the UN did a poor job; today about...

According to the Desert Eagle, the Air Force Combat Weather Team is doing a “great job” forecasting Southwest Asia area thunder and lightening storms, especially considering their lack of desert training. They “nailed” one recent forecast three days out, said...

Boeing has received a $240 million contract from the Air Force to produce Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kits to convert 10,000 bombs of 500, 1,000, and 2,000 pounds. The bombs belong to the Air Force and Navy. Boeing is...

Air Force Research Lab biomedical engineers are working with the Air Force Human Systems Group and helmet-manufacturer Gentex to design and test a breakaway version of the Gentex chin-nape strap. The trick, say AFRL officials, is to develop a strap...

March 13, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 4 – 14 CAS/Armed Recon 50 20 – 70 Airlift – – 185 185 Air refueling – – 34 34 Total 60 24 219 303 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...