Lockheed Martin has navigated its way ahead of Boeing to win the Air Force’s Global Positioning System Block III satellite contest, securing an initial $1.46 billion contract for the first increment of the next-generation satellites, DOD announced May 15. “Lockheed...

The Air Force’s F-16 Block 40/42 aircraft are experiencing cracked bulkheads that require repair or eventual replacement. While not a safety-of-flight concern, this issue, like the F-15 longeron saga, epitomizes the challenges of operating platforms for longer than their intended...

A total of eight Air Force C-130 transports operating of out Thailand had delivered nearly 100 tons of supplies to Burma as of May 14 to aid the survivors of Tropical Cyclone Nargis, according to US defense officials. The most...

The House Armed Services Committee added $3.9 billion for the Air Force to procure an additional 15 C-17s in its mark-up of the Pentagon’s Fiscal 2009 spending plan May 14. It also added $523 million for the advance procurement of...

The Air Force signed the movement directive May 12 that formally authorizes the relocation of the 16th Special Operations Squadron and its eight AC-130H gunships from Hurlburt Field, Fla., to Cannon AFB, N.M, Air Force Special Operations Command announced May 15. The 16th SOS, formerly a part of Hurlburt’s 1st Special Operations Wing, will transfer to the 27th SOW at Cannon, AFSOC’s western hub since October 2007. The command anticipates the move of the gunships and associated aircrews and support personnel to be complete by November 2009, with an initial cadre moving this summer and the majority of the squadron in April 2009, AFSOC said. The transfer will involve approximately 600 positions. Members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation welcomed the news—which they got wind of prior to the public announcement—in a joint statement May 14.

Northrop Grumman and EADS North America plan to hold a ground-breaking ceremony June 28 Brookley Field in Mobile, Ala., to mark the start of construction for their adjoining manufacturing plants where they will assemble the Air Force’s new KC-45A tanker...

F-15Es pounded enemy combatants with 500-pound joint direct attack munitions and 2,000-pound JDAMs May 14 in the vicinity of Orgune, Afghanistan, Air Forces Central announced May 15. An F-15E struck enemy combatants with a 500-pound laser-guided bomb in Qalenaw, and...

The 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, a C-130 unit operating from Balad AB, Iraq, says its transport activities have kept approximately 10,000 ground vehicles and about 27,000 airmen, marines, sailors, and soldiers from having to travel along dangerous truck convoy routes...

Members of the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 154th Training Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base hope to begin using the Walnut Ridge Airport in the north-central part of the state before the end of the year as a night-vision...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaMay 13-14, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 48 25 73 3,907 CAS/Armed Recon 135 93 228 11,771 Airlift 298 298 17,124 Air refueling 111 111 5,452 Total 710 38,254...