A transition that has been in the works for more than a year is about to take place, setting the stage for more efficient ground operations for the widely used Global Positioning System. Officials at Space and Missile Systems Center...

The Air Force has to change the ground control segment for the Global Positioning System satellites (see above) because the current system simply can’t handle the various generations of GPS sats flying now and in the near future. Talking with...

Air Force acquisition leader Sue Payton told reporter Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News that the service wants to get a fixed price for 80 aircraft out of a planned initial buy of 179 for its KC-X tanker replacement program. And,...

Talk definitely has started about the next Base Realignment and Closure round—just when many folks thought they'd seen the last. A recent Congressional Research Service report on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program notes that many lawmakers wishing to "BRAC-proof" bases are actively petitioning the Air Force to locate F-35 units in their states. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that having the new fighter in its stable may save Hill AFB, Utah, home of the Ogden Air Logistics Center. The Air Force already has indicated it plans to base at least one squadron of F-35 Lightning IIs at Hill, where the 388th Fighter Wing currently flies the F-16. More importantly perhaps is the fact that Ogden is the depot for the F-16s the new fighter is designed to replace. One would think work on the replacement aircraft would be done at the same depot. However, former Republican Congressman Jim Hansen told the Tribune that he expects another BRAC and "would not be too surprised if one of the three remaining [Air Force] air logistics centers goes on the list in 2012."

Sydney Freedberg writes in the National Journal of the age-old fighter mafia vs. the bomber crowd debate, questioning whether the Air Force really wants to pursue a new bomber. He draws on a study defense analyst Rebecca Grant did for...

The 45th Space Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla. is feeling the strain of having more than 15 percent of its airmen deployed to Southwest Asia, reports Norman Moody of Florida Today. And, for some units, like the 45th Security Forces...

The Pentagon says it has identified remains belonging to Lt. Col. Alton C. Rockett Jr., who was listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War. The Birmingham, Ala., native and his copilot Capt. Daniel L. Carrier were part of...

Air Force Research Lab has given a $300 million contract to Rolls Royce’s LibertyWorks unit in Indianapolis to develop the Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology program leading to a next-generation propulsion system that will operate over a broad range of altitudes and speeds without sacrificing fuel efficiency. AFRL calls the ADVENT program “the next big step in turbine engine technology.” Rolls Royce has contributed technology to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine and other advanced engine programs. Phil Burkholder, COO for LibertyWorks, says that his unit and AFRL “will deliver some lasting changes that will dramatically reduce fuel consumption.” The Air Force expects work to be completed by September 2012.

Northrop Grumman has completed two ground test milestones for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System, taking the Missile Defense Agency-run program closer to its 2008 launch date. The site for the final ground segment acceptance test was Schriever AFB, Colo.,...

Faiz Mohd Ramaki, an Afghan translator who has worked with coalition forces for five years, will be the first cadet from Afghanistan to undergo pilot training in the US under the US Air Force’s Aviation Leadership Program. SSgt. Julie Weckerlein...

Retired Maj. Gen. Richard C. Catledge, the first commander of the Air Force’s Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team, died Aug. 12 from complications related to pneumonia. He began his 32-year Air Force career in 1942 as an aviation cadet and flew...

Aug. 14-15, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 34 22 56 CAS/Armed Recon 126 109 235 Airlift 256 256 Air refueling 136 136 Total 160 131 392 683 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...