Cheney Presents Bronze Stars to Airmen:

Vice President Dick Cheney has made recent stops at two Air Force bases, where he thanked the airmen—active, Guard, and Reserve—and their families for their efforts in the Global War on Terror. At Charleston AFB, S.C., Cheney presented Bronze Stars...

The $6.7 Million Dollar Streamer

One unlucky crew chief failed to capture the nose landing gear pin streamer during removal and allowed it to be sucked into the right engine of an F-22A Raptor during operations last October at Hill AFB, Utah, according to a...

First British Pilot Gets a Crack at Raptors

RAF Flight Lieutenant Dan Robinson reverted to the wide-eyed wonderment of childhood during his first foray into the cockpit of a new F-22A Raptor at Langley AFB, Va., according to the Hampton Roads Daily Press. The RAF pilot arrived at...

Black Knights Clean Up at Tanker Games

A group of 10 airmen from the 19th Air Refueling Group at Robins AFB, Ga., won first place at the 2006 Tanker Association Winter Games, which recently wrapped up at Grand Forks AFB, N.D. The first-ever competition of its kind...

First It Was Sea Ports, Now It’s Aircraft Engines

The Dubai Ports World controversy might be getting a second wind, thanks to new Congressional scrutiny of a deal involving the sale to Dubai of the US plants of a British aerospace firm that manufactures military aircraft engine parts, reportedly...

Picture This—a Supersonic Sweep Wing

Picture This—a Supersonic Sweep Wing: The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency has selected Northrop Grumman to design the first supersonic flying wing aircraft that can change the sweep of its wing for optimal performance. DARPA is providing $10.3 million for...

Is TacSat in Danger?

Is TacSat in Danger?: The Government Accountability Office believes that the Pentagon’s lack of a department-wide strategy puts the future of the tactical satellite program “in danger,” said Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.) at a recent House subcommittee hearing. Reyes wanted...

Can You Tell the Difference?

At a House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing, Air Force Undersecretary Ronald Sega had to defend the developing Space Radar program from technological attack. Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) criticized the program, asking how it could still reside in the...

TSAT Runs Confidence Course:

Air Force Undersecretary Sega describes the new “fighter block” plan for the Transformational Satellite as a series of confidence-building steps. He told lawmakers last week, that the Air Force recognized that there were some parts of the program that were...

Missile Shield Facing Tests:

Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, directory of the Missile Defense Agency, told attendees at the 4th Annual Missile Defense Conference in Washington, D.C., this week that the layered missile defense system is facing some tougher tests this year in line with...

Former Astronaut Takes Over Patrick:

The Air Force has assigned Brig. Gen. (select) Susan Helms to take command of the 45th Space Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla. The former astronaut and one-time vice commander of the 45th SW is slated to replace Brig. Gen. Mark...

“Hawgsmoke” Lands at Davis-Monthan:

The biennial “Hawgsmoke 2006” competition kicked off this week at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., with the arrival of 20 A-10 squadrons from around the world. The A-10 airmen are competing to see who will earn “best of the best” bragging rights...

And, One, And, Two, And, Three:

Air Force Reserve Command has seen the fitness stats for its airmen drop dramatically since it implemented the new Air Force fitness program in 2004, say command officials. Statistics released this week show that last year the failure rate was...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

March 22, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 12 3 15 CAS/Armed Recon 56 20 76 Airlift 175 175 Air refueling 36 36 Total 68 23 211 302 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance