Lockheed Martin engineers are pouring over the results of several ground speed taxi tests of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter before giving the OK to take the new fighter into the air. In the last taxi test Tuesday,...

It is no secret that the Marine Corps short takeoff and landing version of the F-35 has been hampered with weight issues—but those have been solved (see “Struggling for Altitude” in our September issue)—but the STOVL version cost more. And,...

In late summer, USAF’s E-8 Joint STARS force surpassed 20,000 combat hours covering operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, Air Force journalist TSgt. Steve Staedler reports that the three Joint STARS squadrons from Robins AFB, Ga., flying 90-day rotations, have amassed more than 20,000 hours over Iraq alone since operations began in 2003. The 12th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron actually flew the milestone mission on Nov. 30, 2006. That 20K equates to 833 days of flying.

Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne on his recent tour to Southwest Asia visited the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which is one of two units in SWA supporting a Contingency Aerial Staging Facility medical evacuation operation. The Rock Slater base newspaper reports that he said the CASF and medevac are key to SWA operations. “The miracle of this engagement and this time is medevac,” asserted Wynne. If a wounded airman, soldier, sailor, or marine “can make it to the CASF here,” the survival rate is “above 96 percent,” said Wynne, adding, “This is unheard of in warfare.”

National Guard proponents believe they may have a better chance with a Democratic controlled Congress to elevate the rank of the National Guard Bureau chief and give him a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Megan Scully of Congress...

Raytheon has delivered to the Air Force Research Lab the “first rapid-development space optical payload,” states a company release. Brian Arnold, VP of strategic Systems, calls delivery of the $14 million Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer, which the...

The Washington Post reports that the same six DOD employees that challenged—and lost—the Pentagon in court over the use of the anthrax inoculation shots plans to file another lawsuit. The Pentagon recently returned to mandatory shots. Now, the group claims...

The National Guard Bureau has created a special Web site to feature lore covering the Guard’s first 370 years of being. The Guard’s history extends from Dec. 13, 1636, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony formed three regiments of existing militias...

Lawmakers queried Robert Gates, now Defense Secretary designate, about his view of the National Security Personnel System, now in partial implementation due to ongoing litigation. In his set of advance policy questions, Gates replied: “Reforming civil service rules to make...

Three appellate court judges in the District of Columbia began hearing arguments this week in the dispute between DOD and the American Federation of Government Employees over the labor relations portion of the National Security Personnel System. An earlier decision...

The Air Force has concluded that a B-52 crew from the 96th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La., entered incorrect coordinates for inert bombs they were to drop over a training range, reports Associated Press news service. The bombs fell into...

Construction will begin in 2007 on new Fisher Houses in Boston and Seattle, per Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson. Fisher Houses offer free lodging to families of veterans undergoing treatment at VA centers or military hospitals. The Fisher House Foundation...

Dec. 12, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 16 7 23 CAS/Armed Recon 42 31 73 Airlift 140 140 Air refueling 33 33 Total 58 38 173 269 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance