Lockheed Martin’s first F-35, designated AA-1, has flown seven times. Jon Beesley, Lockheed’s F-35 chief test pilot, told reporters covering AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando Wednesday that the only flaws in the test flights so far was inconsistency between...

Not Your Gramps’ Chinook, We Swear: Boeing officials were on hand at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando Thursday to tout their winning submission for the Air Force’s CSAR-X program—the HH-47 tandem-rotor Chinook variant. Rick Lemaster, the HH-47 program director,...

Boeing officials told defense reporters in Orlando that they’ve been a bit puzzled over some of the chatter regarding the HH-47 CSAR win—Clinton Horn, Boeing’s director of business development for its defense programs, said the new CSAR aircraft is a...

Lockheed Martin’s John Pericci, head of business development at the company’s missiles and fire control division, told reporters Wednesday covering the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., that he is trying to interest the Air Force in...

The SNIPER advanced targeting pod has been getting heavy combat time in Southwest Asia on both the F-15E and F-16 fleet. The program shows no sign of stopping anytime soon, according to Lockheed Martin program manager Mark Fischer. He told...

Lockheed Martin officials rolled out a new strike weapon program for defense reporters visiting the company’s Orlando Missiles and Fire Control facility Wednesday, touting the Low Cost Miniature Cruise Missile as the “mini-JASSM.” Fielding a 1,000-pound, 100 nautical mile plus...

The Senate has confirmed Adm. William Fallon to become the new head of US Central Command but is still working on the nomination of Gen. George Casey Jr. as the next Army Chief of Staff. Fallon got unanimous support from...

Some news sources have reported that USAF intends to buy less than half the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters it had planned because the new budget only allows it to purchase 48 per year through 2013, not the preferred run of...

Take note, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has raised the red flag over the Pentagon’s action to once again cancel the second Joint Strike Fighter engine. At this week’s hearing on the DOD...

Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, on a recent visit to Balad AB, Iraq, told airmen that the Air Force’s shift to a 120-day cycle increased the number of airmen who must deploy as part of an Air Expeditionary Force....

The Air Force provides a higher percentage of its force to combatant commanders than any other service, stated Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, during a visit to Southwest Asia. He said: “Every day 53 percent of our airmen are...

Talking with airmen deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, during recent visits to facilities in the region, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley commented on a favored topic—making certain every airman who can deploy does so. He intends to...

Air Force Reserve Command plans to establish a new associate unit at Beale AFB, Calif., working with Air Combat Command’s 548th Intelligence Group. The Reservists will operate under a “classic” associate arrangement, sharing the load in operating and maintaining active...

Air Combat Command has expanded its ability to provide the full spectrum of adversarial tactics for training scenarios, activating the 57th Information Aggressor Squadron under the 57th Adversary Tactics Group at Nellis AFB, Nev. Among the new unit’s missions will...

Airmen from 13th Air Force and six Japan Air Self Defense Force liaison officers are engrossed in Exercise Keen Edge ’07 at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, in an effort to increase combat readiness as well as interoperability with JASDF. The intent...

Italy Signs Up for JSF: Italy has signed the Joint Strike Fighter memorandum of understanding to proceed with the next phase of the program, according to a Defense Department release. The MOU covers production, sustainment, and follow-on development. Norway was...

The airmen at RAF Mildenhall, Britain, who maintain the Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130 aircraft in shape have managed to trim 20 days from the time it takes them to perform an isochronal inspection. And, they’re not stopping there....

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, says the savings in President Bush’s Fiscal 2008 budget request are essentially the result of creative accounting—it puts veterans, retirees, students, and families as well as the environment at a...

Air Force Reserve Command’s 433rd Airlift Wing at Lackland AFB, Tex., has added two squadrons to round out its new role as the sole Air Force training unit for the C-5 airlifter. The 356th Airlift Squadron and the 733rd Training...

Feb. 5-6, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 22 15 37 CAS/Armed Recon 80 73 153 Airlift 280 280 Air refueling 66 66 Total 102 88 346 536 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance