The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps objections to the Air Force becoming executive agent for unmanned aerial vehicles that fly higher than 3,500 feet are symptoms that those services still don’t get it about being “interdependent,” Lt. Gen. David Deptula,...

The Air Force thinks it ought to be the executive agent for unmanned aerial vehicle acquisition, Lt. Gen. David Deptula argues, because it has a “proven record of success” with them. Deptula, who is USAF’s intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance leader, said Friday during...

USAF’s intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance boss, Lt. Gen. David Deptula, said Friday at a Washington seminar that he understands why an Army division commander would want to keep the benefits of some high-flying unmanned aerial vehicles all to himself, but he said that...

Arguments against the F-22 Raptor all fall apart when the aircraft’s prodigious capabilities in collecting information are considered, according to USAF’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, Lt. Gen. David Deptula. At a Capitol Hill seminar, Friday,...

Gen. Paul Hester announced his retirement Friday, coincident with the Pentagon announcement that President Bush plans to nominate Lt. Gen. Howie Chandler to receive a fourth star and head Pacific Air Forces. Hester, who has commanded PACAF since July 2004,...

The Oklahoma Air National Guard’s 137th Airlift Wing in Oklahoma City is trading its C-130 tactical transports for KC-135 aerial refuelers, courtesy of BRAC 2005. The Norman Transcript reports that the 137th will join forces with Air Force Reserve Command’s...

A solicitation issued last week for a new unmanned aerial vehicle in the Predator class is not so much aimed at finding a next-generation version of the Predator, but at locating anyone else who would be willing to build vehicles...

The Air Force plans to replace the capability that it would have put on the now-canceled E-10 sensor and battle management airplane by upgrading the E-8 Joint STARS, according to Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, military deputy to the assistant secretary...

Air Combat Command officials witnessed a 12-minute aerial demonstration by Maj. Paul Moga flying an F-22A Raptor on Friday and gave formal approval to put the aircraft in ACC’s stable of air show demonstrators. The public will not get to...

Boeing is in the midst of flight testing the new 30 mm cannons on the AC-130U Gunship at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Currently, Air Force Special Operations Command has asked Boeing to modify four AC-130Us with the new Bushmaster 30 mm...

The Air Force has named Pacific Air Forces’ 17th Operational Weather Squadron at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, the best operational weather squadron for 2006. The 17th OWS covers 110 million square miles and 42 countries, the largest area of any of...

Air Force Space Command has approved a five-year license for SpaceX—Space Exploration Technologies Corp.—to operate from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. SpaceX will have to “pay for all improvements, construction, and maintenance” associated with SpaceX operations at...

Retired Lt. Col. Robert L. Riedenauer, who flew development aircraft such as the SR-71 and U-2 while in the Air Force and later, as a Lockheed Martin test pilot, the F-117 stealth fighter, died at age 70 on April 23...

April 24, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 15 9 24 CAS/Armed Recon 55 41 96 Airlift 125 125 Air refueling 50 50 Total 70 50 175 295 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...