Boeing Turns Off Tap:

Boeing today directed its C-17 program subcontractors to “stop work on uncommitted airplanes,” saying the company “can’t continue carrying the program without additional orders from the US government. (Boeing has spent its own money for more than a year to...

Jones Says NATO Nearing C-17 Deal

Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and commander of US European Command, said Thursday that he’s on the verge of announcing big news for NATO’s strategic airlift capability. “We’re currently in a very exciting moment...

The Terminator Pitches In

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has petitioned President Bush to add money to the Pentagon’s 2008 budget for additional C-17s. In a letter dated Tuesday, California’s top executive noted that the closure of Boeing’s Long Beach production facility would mean the...

Good News and Bad on Space Launch Fleet

A new Congressionally chartered report on the current and future status of national security space launch finds that the two new Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle families—Delta IV and Atlas V—will cover known NSS launch requirements through 2020. The bad news:...

Making the Otis Intel Unit Official

The head of the Massachusetts National Guard, Brig. Gen. Oliver Mason Jr. has confirmed that the Air National Guard unit at Otis ANGB, Mass., will transition from fighter aircraft to intelligence processing. Reports had been circulating for months that Otis...

The Civilian Number is 2,000

The Air Force plans to trim 2,000 civilian workers from its rolls during Fiscal 2007 as part of its overall force reduction of 40,000 military and civilian members over the next five years. The service already announced that it would...

Special Guys Need Special Care

Air Force Special Operations Command has created a Battlefield Airman Clinic, which it expects to “better serve the unique physical needs” of USAF’s ground warriors as they go through advanced skills training. The new clinic is primarily the work of...

Unisys Posts Reward for Missing Computer

In hopes of speeding the return of its stolen desktop computer laden with personal data on some 38,000 veterans, Unisys Corp. says that it is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to its recovery. The computer contains data on...

The New Predator “Grizzlies”:

Training is done for the first 13 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crews of the California Air National Guard’s 163rd Air Refueling Wing. The 163rd ARW gave up its last KC-135 tanker in early June. The wing first sent six crews—one...

Alternate Medevac Air Need Special Lift:

Air Mobility Command officials say the current patient loading system—a specially designed ramp—used to load patients on high-deck aircraft like the KC-135 is suffering from overuse and parts shortages. The service started using KC-135 tankers, in addition to C-17 and...

A Ground Combat Badge for Airmen?:

The Army has one. So do the Navy and the Marines. And soon, perhaps, USAF will too. Stars and Stripes reports that Air Force leaders may have changed their minds about creating “some kind of combat actions badge.” This is...

Better, Faster, Cheaper Uniform Development?:

The Air Force has applied its new AFSO21—for Air Force Smart Operations 21—to uniform development. The result: A team has identified a way to eliminate the “redundancies and gaps” that led to such things as the five-year development cycle to...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

Aug. 16, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 12 6 18 CAS/Armed Recon 46 24 70 Airlift 160 160 Air refueling 40 40 Total 58 30 200 288 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance