F-15 Pilot Identified:
The Air Force released the name of the pilot who died as a result of the Feb. 20 accident involving two F-15s flying a training sortie over the Gulf of Mexico. A Feb. 22 statement says that 1st Lt. Ali...
Carlson Sets the Record Straight:
“I spoke in error,” said Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, regarding his previous comment that the Air Force would eventually find a way to purchase 380 F-22s. Responding to a question at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium...
Some Historical Perspective:
To support the global war on terror, the Air Force’s mobility assets are operating at a pace today comparable to the surge rates during the Berlin Airlift, Gen. Arthur Lichte, commander of Air Mobility Command, said Friday. “It’s an amazing...
Viable Strategy Needed:
Asked about Air Combat Command’s portion of the nearly $20 billion in Air Force unfunded priorities for Fiscal 2009, Gen. John Corley lamented the fact that USAF is even in this situation. “First, you’ve got to have a viable strategy,”...
Say No to Niche Force:
The Air Force is at risk of degrading to a “regional power” if it can’t get more new combat aircraft than are now budgeted, Air Combat Command boss Gen. John Corley asserted at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium Friday. Corley said...
Fatigue Test:
When the F-15 entered service in the 1970s, fatigue tests were done to see how long they could last. Another such test will soon be done, ACC commander Gen. John Corley said Friday. Corley noted that F-15s built in the...
Don’t Forget, the F-16 is Old Too:
As of Feb. 22, Air Combat Command has 63 F-16s with cracked bulkheads, noted ACC boss Gen. John Corley. Fortunately, even though some of these Vipers are grounded, the problem is not as severe as it is for the F-15s...
The Oft Unseen Mission:
Despite the relative low profile of the effort compared to the global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US air defense mission, Operation Noble Eagle, continues at a robust rate, according to DOD’s senior uniformed homeland defense official....
Not Quite Peace in the Pacific:
The status quo in the Pacific region is something short of peace even though the region is not at war. So said Gen. Howie Chandler, the new commander of Pacific Air Forces, in his Feb. 21 speech before AFA’s Air...
Chinese Transparency Wanted:
Gen. Howie Chandler, Pacific Air Forces boss, noted that his predecessor at PACAF, now-retired Gen. Paul Hester, had the opportunity to visit China, and now top Chinese officials are asking for a reciprocal visit. The head of the Chinese regional...
Committed to Korea:
The South Korean military is making rapid increases in its effectiveness, and the overall US military presence on the Korean Peninsula is likely to draw down to roughly 25,000 personnel in the coming years (down from 37,000 in 2003) —but...
Let’s Get On With It:
The United States’ ability to build and test nuclear warheads is rapidly disintegrating, and must be revitalized, US Strategic Command chief Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton said. Chilton, addressing AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando late Thursday, said the US...
Nuke Logic:
US STRATCOM boss Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton said there are positive side effects to rehabilitating the nuclear warhead arsenal. (See above) He proposes making the warheads physically larger than those now in the inventory and of such a design...
Who’s the Hypocrite?:
China criticized the US Thursday as a hypocrite, saying the US condemned China’s anti-satellite test last year, but then conducted its own in Wednesday’s shootdown of a potentially hazardous derelict spy satellite. US STRATCOM commander Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton...
MALD Nears Production:
Raytheon’s miniature air launched decoy completed a highly successful eight-month phase of flight testing last month, and the company anticipates moving into low-rate initial production for the Air Force this spring, a senior company official told the Daily Report on...
Navy Hits Sat, Probably Fuel Tank:
The Pentagon believes the Navy Standard Missile-3 fired from the USS Lake Erie at a decaying satellite likely struck the loaded, and toxic, fuel tank as intended. After an early delay because of rough seas, the Erie fired the SM-3...
USAF Played Big Role in Satellite Shot:
Air Force personnel and expertise as well as its space-monitoring assets contributed much to the US military’s successful intercept of a doomed American intelligence satellite on Feb. 20, USAF’s top space general said Thursday (see above). “Air Force Space Command...
Broadband Meets Joint STARS:
The first E-8C Joint STARS ground surveillance aircraft has received an upgraded that provides beyond-line-of-site communications capability that essentially moves the E-8 from a dial-up-type Internet capability to broadband. Working with prime contractor Northrop Grumman, the Electronic Systems Center at...
“Above All” Says It All:
That is the consensus of everyone—airmen, civilians, other services, and more—the Air Force polled to reach a decision on its new advertising campaign slogan “Above All,” according to Col. Michael Caldwell, deputy director of Public Affairs. The new ad campaign,...
Six-Combat-Tour Working Dog Dies:
Airmen of the 60th Security Forces Squadron at Travis AFB, Calif., held a memorial late last month for military working dog Arko, who had deployed six times over a period of three years to support the war on terror, according...
Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest Asia
Feb. 19, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 11 9 20 1,266 CAS/Armed Recon 2 39 41 3,845 Airlift 64 64 5,653 Air refueling 38 38 1,840 Total 163 12,604 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...