Air Force members are now engaged in the partial evacuation of Americans from war-wracked Lebanon. In a July 19 release, USAF said three Air Force MH-53 Pave Low helicopters are at work transporting US citizens from the Arab nation to...

According to US Central Command, a deployed C-17 airlifter unit, the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, has hauled in more than 100 tons of food, water, tents, and other supplies to Akrotiri, Cyprus in anticipation of the arrival of Americans brought...

The Air Force at 3:14 a.m. today, local time, successfully launched a Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. It was unarmed and fitted with three dummy re-entry vehicles. The unarmed RVs flew 4,200 miles before hitting their pre-determined targets...

The director of Army Aviation, Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Mundt, warns that budget cuts currently planned by Congress could deal a serious blow to progress of the Air Force-Army Joint Cargo Aircraft. According to a July 19 American Forces Press...

Lockheed Martin caused a stir July 19 by disclosing the existence of a new, high-altitude UAV demonstrator that appears geared toward USAF’s development of a modern long-range strike system. The P-175 Polecat, a product of the famed Lockheed “Skunk Works,”...

US Central Command on July 19 disclosed that an Air Force F-16, flying a nontraditional ISR mission in support of ground forces in Iraq, attacked an killed an insurgent planting a roadside bomb near Baquba, Iraq. The F-16, which was...

A recent Gallup survey asked Republicans about their choices in the 2008 presidential election and, for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the results cannot be called encouraging. The poll, conducted during June 26-29, found his “negatives” to be high–four out of...

The Air Force had to call off at the last minute a planned July 19 launch of an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The flight was supposed to test the missile’s reliability, said the Air Force. The...

Flight Lt. Dan Robinson of the Royal Air Force has been fascinated with aircraft for a long, long time. “I was that kid who always wanted to talk to the pilot,” he said. Now, he can make a boast no...

“I’ve worked in flight test and acquisition for 16 plus years and have never seen a program this advanced in its development at this stage.” The subject was the stealthy F-35 Lightning II, and the speaker was USAF Brig. Gen....

Northrop Grumman announced Tuesday that its LITENING precision targeting and sensor systems, currently deployed onboard Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft, have achieved 500,000 operational hours (with more than 250,000 of those hours having come about on combat missions. To...

Nevada residents have voiced concerns over expanding key fighter training airspace over a large section of the state, but Air Force officials visiting this week said that such worries are not “show stoppers,” the Associated Press reports. Assistant Air Force...

A new Gallup poll reveals that a majority of Americans think the US should focus on diplomatic solutions to respond to the North Korean missile tests earlier this month, rather than using an air attack or ground forces against the...

Boeing Chief Executive James McNerney said he is worried that European defense giant EADS will enjoy an advantage in the upcoming tanker competition because of its exemptions from US laws on export controls. Speaking with The Seattle Times, McNerney said...

First, the feds lost computer components containing vital data on 26 million veterans and other military personnel, raising fears of mass identify theft. Then, it offered government-funded credit monitoring to the vicitimized vets. Now, all signs are that the Bush...

Six surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen(the name of the storied 332nd Fighter Group of the Second World War(were the guests of honor at an event hosted by the Selfridge Base Community Council at Selfridge ANGB, Mich. earlier this week....

The 15th Airlift Wing, Hickham AFB, Hawaii, took delivery on July 18 of its eighth and final C-17 advanced airlifter, completing a remarkable transformation of the unit. The new C-17 was named “Spirit of Kamehameha-Imua,” after one of Hawaii’s most...

When setting requirements for a next-generation bomber, USAF should emphasize its conventional role, with the nuclear mission a distant second place. That’s the view of Barry Blechman, a member of DOD’s Defense Policy Board and president of DFI International. Blechman...

The recent decision to move the in-service date for a next-generation bomber to 2018, announced in the QDR, is a good thing, Blechman added. The change creates motivation simply did not exist when the target date for a new system...

July 18, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 14 8 22 CAS/Armed Recon 44 25 69 Airlift 160 160 Air refueling 39 39 Total 58 33 199 290 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance