The Air Force has decided to reinvent the long-time Air Staff operational planning cell called Checkmate as an independent strategic studies group. Checkmate has been around since the 1970s and in the 1990s had a brief resurgence with the initial...

Veteran Air Force combat search and rescue pilot—retired Lt. Col. John Guilmartin—has added his two cents to the continuing debate over USAF’s selection of the Boeing HH-47 for the original CSAR-X award, writing a letter to key lawmakers that pointedly refutes the wisdom of selecting a helicopter whose size “is a liability not an advantage.” Guilmartin, who is a professor of history at Ohio State University, flew rescue helicopters in Vietnam and, after his retirement, served on USAF’s Gulf War Air Power Survey examining CSAR use in that war. In the letter sent last month to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose office is reviewing the CSAR acquisition, and others, Guilmartin states that the other contenders—Lockheed Martin’s US101 and Sikorsky’s HH-92—with their single rotors “confer superior maneuverability and agility”—a boon to “survival in the terminal area,” which he terms the “critical issue” in CSAR. He says the HH-47 is “cumbersome” by both weight and design, making it “a big, slow target.”

The Pentagon IG believes the Air Force needs to correct a shortfall in its KC-X aerial refueling aircraft replacement program that could prevent it from getting the best price for more than half the aircraft buy. The Air Force agrees and plans to alter its acquisition strategy. In its report, the IG notes that the service intends to purchase the first 80 of a total 179 KC-X aircraft under a competitive arrangement; the remaining 99 would fall under a noncompetitive action with the original winner. The IG does not fault this plan but says USAF needs to “obtain accurate, complete, and current cost and pricing data to determine the reasonableness of the contractor’s proposed price.” However, the IG also acknowledges that USAF might “bypass” this option and jump straight into the next tanker replacement increment—a KC-Y competition. At present, the service plans three consecutive procurement programs—KC-X, KC-Y, and KC-Z—to field enough new tankers to replace its fleet of KC-135s. All three could be different platforms.

The Air National Guard-run 1st Air Force formally opened its new 37,000-square foot, $30 million air operations center at Tyndall AFB, Fla., as planned on June 1. The mission of the 601st Air and Space Operations Center—also known as America’s...

The leaders of Air Force Reserve Command’s 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla., don’t bemoan the fact that they are flying some of the Air Force’s oldest aircraft—HC-130s tankers and HH-60 helicopters. Instead, they tell Norman Moody of Florida...

All Air Force Academy cadets will be required to study foreign language beginning with the fall 2007 semester. Lt. Col. Scot Allen, deputy department head for foreign languages, told the Daily Report yesterday the Academy is now offering Portuguese in...

The Air Force has awarded the Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy, its top individual safety award, to Lt. Col. Peter Byrne for his extraordinary recovery of his F-16C after suffering a stroke during a tactical maneuvering training flight in June 2006....

The Air Force has awarded a Bronze Star to Capt. Samantha Elmore, a public health officer of the 9th Medical Operations Squadron at Beale AFB, Calif., for her efforts while deployed to Iraq. Elmore led a team in Baghdad that...

A new poll conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs indicates that should China’s economy grow to rival that of the US, most residents of the 13 countries in the survey believe the effect would be “mostly positive” or...

The Japan Air Self Defense Force plans to fly its F-2 in the upcoming installment of Cope North, marking the first time the F-2 fighter has flown outside Japanese territory. Andersen AFB, Guam, is hosting the joint and bilateral exercise...

May 31-June2, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 51 37 88 CAS/Armed Recon 182 116 298 Airlift 400 400 Air refueling 137 137 Total 233 153 537 923 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...