EADS North America publicly raised the stakes in the Air Force’s KC-X tanker competition yesterday by announcing that it would build Airbus A330 civilian freighter aircraft in Mobile Ala., in addition to USAF KC-30 tankers, if it and teammate Northrop...

Boeing, rival to Northrop Grumman and EADS in the KC-X competition, played down EADS’s announcement about co-location of Airbus A330 freighter production at the KC-30 assembly plant. “Only the US Air Force can comment on how—or if—this 11th-hour Airbus/EADS announcement...

The move to co-locate Airbus A330 freighter production at the KC-30 assembly site (see above) calls for expansion of the Mobile, Ala., tanker production site by 20 percent and would create “at least” 300 additional positions on top of the...

As yet one more salvo in the war of words in the Air Force’s KC-X tanker contest, Boeing said yesterday its 767 commercial airliner is “substantially more fuel efficient” than the larger Airbus A330 and issued a company-funded, yet “independent”...

Gen. Roger Brady received his fourth star and formally took command of US Air Forces in Europe on Jan. 9 during a Pentagon ceremony with Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley presiding. “Over the next few years, the USAFE mission...

More than 80 US, partner, and coalition aircraft began 2008’s first Red Flag air combat exercise on Jan. 12 at Nellis AFB, Nev., and will continue with the realistic training activities through Jan. 26. Participating aircraft include F-22A Raptors (acting...

The Air Force anticipates starting construction later this month of a $30 million facility at Balad AB, Iraq, that will house a state-of-the-art system to manage military air traffic throughout the Middle Eastern nation more effectively. The service expects the...

Lockheed Martin’s VH-71 presidential helicopter program for the Navy could derail. The Wall Street Journal reports (requires subscription) that Pentagon acquisition czar John Young is considering alternatives to the current two-phased VH-71 acquisition plan that is reportedly running into engineering...

A Bronze Star medal presented last month to TSgt. Jose Valentin, a joint terminal attack controller, came with a valor device to denote his courage under fire during a 2006 insurgent attack in Afghanistan. During one action, a combat reconnaissance...

The Air Force Weapons School at Nellis, AFB, Nev., received its first F-22A Raptor fighter aircraft on Jan. 9. A Nellis spokeswoman tells the Daily Report that the weapons school is scheduled to receive five Raptors in total. The next...

The weather at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, can be quite inhospitable during winter months, but Air Force maintainers brave the temperature extremes and snow and ice storms on a moment’s notice to keep KC-135 tankers and C-17s transports flying from there...

After slightly more than two years in service, the Air Force inactivated the 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron during a Jan. 11 ceremony at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. USAF formed the unit in December 2005 in response to an Army request...

SrA. Nicholas Eischen apparently died in his sleep on Dec. 24, 2007, at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, but the actual cause of his death remains a mystery. The Los Angeles Times reported on Jan 13, citing the airman’s grandfather, that Eischen...

Jan. 11-12, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 35 14 49 CAS/Armed Recon 91 81 172 Airlift 277 277 Air refueling 82 82 Total 126 95 359 580 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...