JSF Delay Could Cost Big Bucks

Unit cost for the Joint Strike Fighter could increase by $12 million to $16 million if the Pentagon has to slow production in the early years, Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Davis, the program manager, told Reuters news service. Senate...

Forging Ahead on Unified Medical Command

It appears that the Pentagon is making good on its plan to pursue development of a unified medical command. Earlier this year, the Air Force and Navy expressed concern about such a move, but now, according to Air Force Magazine...

Off to War

For the first time since its establishment in 1951, the Puerto Rico Air National Guard’s 156th Airlift Wing has deployed as a unit to support combat operations. The wing will cover a 120-day deployment, operating out of Bagram AB, Afghanistan,...

Air Guard Recruiting Strong in August

The August recruiting and retention numbers just released by the Pentagon point toward a positive year for the Air Force. The active duty Air Force continues to hit 100 percent of its recruiting and retention goals, while the Air National...

Any More Bright Ideas?

The Air Force as DOD’s “largest user of energy” has embraced "green power” and is researching alternative fuels, but it is still not enough, says Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne in his latest letter to airmen. Faced with increased energy costs (Air Combat Command’s aviation fuel bill has soared 31 percent in the past year), Wynne asks every airman to search for additional means to conserve all manner of energy.

Say Goodbye to Firefly

The Air Force finally is scrapping its remaining 110 T-3A Firefly training aircraft that the service suspended in 1997 following a series of accidents that killed six people over a period of three years. The Air Force bought the aircraft to replace the T-41 and began using them in 1993. USAF formally grounded the British-made aircraft in 1999, following failed attempts to ensure their airworthiness. The pre-pilot screening aircraft remained in storage at the Air Force Academy and at Hondo Airport near in San Antonio.

For a Month, They’re Army:

Airmen and sailors training to fill in-lieu-of (ILO) taskings for the Army spend a month at locations like Camp Shelby, Miss., where they learn about weapons and convoys—and life on the ground. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Gould, who as...

Can’t Take No For an Answer

South Korea has wanted to buy four Global Hawk surveillance aircraft and plans to ask the US again for the unmanned aerial vehicles during an upcoming round of security talks, an anonymous Seoul official told the Korea Times. The South...

Post 9/11 Funding

According to a new Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments report, federal funding for defense, military operations, and homeland security, and related activities has risen by a total of $843 billion since September 2001 in contrast to what these areas...

Closing Ceremony at Keflavik

Naval Air Station Keflavik held a closing ceremony Sept. 8 officially ending its 45-year history in Iceland. To prepare for the transition, the Keflavik and tenant command team cleaned and cleared 500 facilities and shipped 6.6 million pounds of household...

Who Says?

The Government Accountability Office notes in a new report that US Strategic Command has successfully developed concepts of operations and obtained the proper resources and personnel to carry out its increased mission, however GAO faults its ability to gauge results...

No Hands:

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in a demonstration with NASA has performed the first-ever hands-off probe and drogue air refueling mission, employing a NASA F/A-18 operating as an unmanned test bed. According to a DARPA release, the Autonomous Airborne...

Cyberspace Class in High School:

Due to the success of the cyber-security boot camp now held every summer in Rome, N.Y., the Air Force Research Laboratory decided to bring the cyber class to high schools around the area. Technology teachers from high schools and Mohawk...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

Sept. 8-10, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 48 16 64 CAS/Armed Recon 126 131 257 Airlift 490 490 Air refueling 129 129 Total 174 147 619 940 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance