The Fighter Aircraft Communication Enhancement pod is becoming increasingly popular since it enables ground forces to get their coordinates to close air support aircraft via a cell-phone-type operation. FACE is particularly useful in mountainous Afghanistan, where standard line-of-sight aircraft communication...

Lockheed Martin and the New York Air National Guard celebrated the initial operational capability of the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod at a ceremony in Syracuse, N.Y. on April 21. Local officials and members of the 174th Fighter Wing—the first USAF...

Nearly 1,100 noncommissioned officers who have been tagged as retraining eligible for Fiscal 2006 are staring down separation alley if they don’t opt for retraining into one of 30 undermanned specialties before the May 15 deadline, said Air Force Personnel...

The Air Force has transferred the 527th Space Aggressor Squadron from Air Force Space Command to Air Combat Command. The transfer, which took effect April 14, affects 11 officers, 16 enlisted members, and three civilians who will continue to work...

The Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2006 main experiment is underway at Nellis AFB, Nev., and this year will assess eight new technology initiatives during live-fly and live-play by air, ground, and naval forces and simulations. Officials explained that the new...

Of the eight experiments being tested at this year’s JEFX, Air Force Special Operations Command has one that it hopes will enable special operations forces to wear computers and communications that will keep them in touch and aid mission management....

Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance analysts plan to test a faster means to provide ISR data to warfighters, using an analysis process called PANACIA, or Predictive Awareness and Network-Centric Analysis for Collaborative Intelligence Assessment. The process integrates a wide range of data that would...

Word among Air National Guard airmen at Lambert Field, in St. Louis is that the 131st Fighter Wing will be heading to Israel soon to exercise its F-15s with the Israeli Air Force. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on the...

DOD’s POW/Missing Personnel Office has confirmed that 11 sets of remains are those of airmen missing since World War II. The airmen comprised the crew of a B-24J Liberator that was returning on April 16, 1944, from a bombing mission...

The haggling over rent at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan may be coming to a close, now that officials at the US Embassy in Bishkek say they want a “quick conclusion” to discussions with the Kyrgyz government, an embassy spokesman told Reuters...

Lockheed Martin officials say they have produced the 4,300th F-16 fighter—a Block 50 version they will deliver to Oman. Oman has purchased 12 advanced Block 50 F-16s. Lockheed currently is producing the popular fighter for Chile, Israel, Poland and the...

Russia has begun delivering advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Belarus, fueling speculation anew that the final recipient is Iran. However, according to the Associated Press, the defense minister of Belarus told reporters that his country could not, under terms of...

Firefighters at Eglin AFB, Fla., have been testing a new chemical protective suit that would be worn as an undergarment not an overgarment, as is the case now. The new kit would be lighter and more flexible and features a...

The Air Force Academy is the winner of the National Security Agency’s 6th Annual Cyber Defense Exercise, conducted earlier this month at Ft. Meade, Md., and at the three military academies. NSA network specialists and military experts formed the Red...

The Defense Information Systems Agency has created a center of excellence for radio frequency spectrum analysis, planning, and support to be called the Defense Spectrum Organization. The DSO will merge and realign DISA’s existing Defense Spectrum Office and Joint Spectrum...

April 21-23, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 46 19 65 CAS/Armed Recon 160 68 228 Airlift 370 370 Air refueling 96 96 Total 206 87 466 759 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance