Playing Defense on CSAR-X:

In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Boeing HH-47 program manager Rick Lemaster asserted that to recompete the combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program would be unfair to Boeing because Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky now were privy to Boeing...

Lukewarm Response?:

The Air Force has until nearly the end of April to decide what to do about the GAO decision on the CSAR-X, and the service may take the full time. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told lawmakers that USAF doesn’t...

Hear Me Again:

The boss of US Strategic Command, Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright acknowledges that the high-flying U-2 reconnaissance aircraft has one major drawback: its pilot. The pilot “limits the duration on station.” Having said that, Cartwright told lawmakers that its obvious...

Twilight of the Nighthawk:

The Air Force on Monday sent off the first six F-117 Nighthawks into retirement, marking the occasion with a final flight witnessed by some 500 spectators from Holloman AFB, N.M., and the surrounding Alamogordo community. In Nevada at the Tonopah Test Range, where the first stealth fighters were flown in secrecy 25 years ago, technicians will remove the wings and store the Black Jets in their original hangars. SrA. Terri Barriere reports that all six fighters took part in Operations Desert Storm, Allied Force, and Iraqi Freedom. Brig. Gen. David Goldfein, commander of Holloman’s 49th Fighter Wing, flew one of the six on its final flight. He said, “The Nighthawk story is truly one of vision, guts, passion, heroism, defiance, and incredible risk taking.” (Read more about the F-117 legacy in “Fade to Black.”)

Another F-16 Crash:

An F-16 from the USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nev., crashed Monday night about 8:50 p.m. near the end of the runway as it came in to land at the Tonopah Test Range Airfield, Nev. The pilot ejected safely....

The Debris is the Thing:

Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, head of US Strategic Command, says that the chief concern from China’s anti-satellite test is the debris. He told members of the House Armed Services Committee last week that an ASAT test is not unprecedented—the...

A Last Flight at Dover:

Airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 326th Airlift Squadron at Dover AFB, Del., flew their last C-5 flight on March 10. The 326th AS, part of the 512th Airlift Wing, is converting to the C-17 on April 1 and receives...

Is the E-10 Dead, Really?:

A Northrop Grumman statement Tuesday says the company has gotten word from the Air Force that the service has decided “to end” the E-10A Multi-Sensor Command and Control Aircraft Weapon System Integration program. Apparently, USAF did not fund the WSI...

Reserve Recruiting Falls:

According to the Pentagon data, the Air and Army National Guard and Army and Navy Reserve fell below their recruiting goals for February. ANG recruiters only found 92 percent of their goal, ending a run of strong recruiting months in...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

March 10-11, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 12 9 21 CAS/Armed Recon 48 39 87 Airlift 130 130 Air refueling 39 39 Total 60 48 169 277 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance