Strike Two?:

The Air Force has struck out for the second time in its quest to become executive agent for higher flying unmanned aerial vehicles. Megan Scully of CongressDaily reports that Defense Undersecretary Gordon England decided against USAF’s proposal. His decision seemingly...

Keep Those BUFFs:

Sen. Byron Dorgan included funding in the 2008 defense spending bill to preserve 76 B-52 bombers, despite Air Force efforts to retire all but 56 of the big bombers. In a statement, Dorgan calls the B-52 “our lowest-cost bomber” and...

Another Go at CSAR-X:

If defense analysts are right, the latest rejection by the Government Accountability Office of the Air Force acquisition effort to replace its combat search and rescue helicopters will force open the CSAR-X competition again. And, it will be a new...

Nukes Investigation Continues:

The Air Force had expected to conclude its investigation into the B-52 weapons misadventure last week, but The Shreveport Times reports that it will take a while longer. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne was at Minot AFB, N.D., last week...

Bending Over Backwards:

The Air Force is “doing the best job humanly possible” to make the procurement of a new aerial tanker fleet “a fair competition,” a senior Boeing official said Friday. Briefing reporters at company offices in Arlington, Va., on the relative...

Less is More?:

Countering claims by KC-X rival Northrop Grumman-EADS North America that “bigger is better,” a Boeing official reminded reporters on Friday that USAF tankers rarely fly with a full load of fuel and fly with considerably less than a full load...

Fat Lady is Still Singing:

An Air Force spokesman dashed a little cold water on Louisiana hopefuls who thought Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne’s pronouncement last week of Barksdale AFB, La., as the provisional headquarters for the new Cyber Command meant they had won the...

AEF Center is Moving:

The Air Force plan to realign its Air and Space Expeditionary Force Center under the Air Force Personnel Center does include shifting the AEF Center from Langley AFB, Va., to Randolph AFB, Tex. And, that effort is now underway. AFPC...

More Dirt Strip Tests:

Personnel from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., are wrapping up a four-phase test program to certify the C-17 airlifter for a wider variety of dirt surfaces. The final phase, being conducted at Ft. Chafee in...

From Moody to Randolph:

In addition to the latest Total Force Integration initiatives unveiled last week at Maxwell AFB, Ala., the Air Force inactivated Air Force Reserve Command’s 100th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph AFB, Tex., and will move the 39th FTS at Moody...

Needed, Flexible Money:

Air Force Materiel Command boss, Gen. Bruce Carlson, praised the ability of his Air Logistics Centers for being able to easily move money between one section of a weapon system to another but that doesn’t yet work on a larger...

Eglin Looking for Memorabilia:

The Enlisted Professional Development Center at Eglin AFB, Fla., wants to add additional Army Air Corps and early Air Force memorabilia to its hallways to help young airmen understand the service’s roots, reports SSgt. Mike Meares. In particular, the center...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

Sept. 13, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 14 10 24 CAS/Armed Recon 62 44 106 Airlift 160 160 Air refueling 58 58 Total 76 54 218 348 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...