Fourteen Senators signed a letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne last week, urging the Air Force to stick to its plan to go sole source for the KC-X tanker replacement program. Various news media report that 52 Congressmen sent Wynne a similar letter. In August, the Air Force said that it would not seek a split-buy arrangement that would give some of the 179 aircraft to each of the two bidders. The Senators wrote: "We write to express our strong support for your current acquisition strategy that will result in the selection of one tanker, not two. … A "split-buy" replacement strategy has been well debated … [and] proponents assert that this policy would reduce costs through enhanced competition and expand operational flexibility to the Air Force. We find these assertions to be fundamentally flawed." In their view, a split-buy approach "removes all benefits associated with a competitive process by guaranteeing business to potential manufacturers."

The Northrop Grumman-EADS North America team may change its plan to offer the Air Force a modified Airbus A330-200 for the KC-X tanker should it win the competition. Instead, Flight International reports that the team might substitute the freighter version,...

The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command tapped BAE Systems to apply a situational awareness and targeting upgrade to some 100 A-10A aircraft. The Air Force does plan to upgrade all Warthogs to the full precision engagement upgrade...

The Vermont Air National Guard just formally activated the 229th Information Operations Squadron at the National Guard Armory on the Norwich University campus, reports the Associated Press (article via Burlington Free Press). The squadron’s mission is to help the active...

Some reservists say they are having to downplay their military connection when they hunt for a new job, reversing a trend where military experience opened many business doors. Christian Davenport of the Washington Post reports that the frequent and lengthy...

Air Force Research Lab’s Human Effectiveness Directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, has been key to the new speech recognition system that will premiere with the first production F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, reports the directorate’s John Schutte. The F-35 is the...

Shaw Air Force Base and McEntire Air National Guard Station—just 25 miles apart in South Carolina—plan to join forces in their shared missions, signing a formal agreement on Oct. 13, reports the Charlotte Observer. The active duty 20th Fighter Wing...

A1C Hazen Sanders has broken the Air Force record for the most fuel pumped by an individual in a month, reports Charlie Reed of Stars and Stripes. The 20-year-old, a member of the 435th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Ramstein AB,...

Four A-10 pilots deployed to Bagram AB, Afghanistan for six months each just reached 100 combat sorties, and one of them is a sailor, reports Capt. Michael Meridith. Three Air Force Warthog pilots, Maj. James Barlow, Capt. Daniel Cruz, and...

The Pentagon’s National Security Space Office has released a six-month study that concludes the US could use space-based solar power as an “inexhaustible supply of clean energy,” reports Brian Berger of Space.com (article via USA Today). The report recommends that...

Oct. 12-13, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 42 18 60 CAS/Armed Recon 111 74 185 Airlift 290 290 Air refueling 95 95 Total 153 92 385 630 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...