Don’t Overlook Basics Like Air Dominance

The senior foreign policy advisor to the Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said Thursday that an Obama Administration would seek to balance the need to expand the size of US ground forces with needed investment in technology to preserve...

Sorting Out The Procurement Puzzle

Richard Danzig, former Navy Secretary and current senior national security policy advisor to Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill,) said Oct. 2 that he doesn’t anticipate a decline in defense spending in the first years of an Obama Administration, but...

Senate Confirms Donley and Fraser

The Senate yesterday confirmed Michael Donley to be the 22nd Air Force Secretary and Lt. Gen. William Fraser, III, for appointment to the rank of rank of general to be the new vice chief of staff. President Bush must now...

McKinley Confirmed to Lead National Guard

The Senate yesterday confirmed Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley for appointment to the rank of general to head the National Guard Bureau as its 26th chief. McKinley, who has led the Air Guard since May 2006, becomes the first...

Year of Progress

Although the Air Force in mid August put its plans on hold to activate a major command for cyberspace on Oct. 1, the work of the service’s provisional cyber organization in the past year has significantly advanced the Air Force’s...

Hydraulic Leak Doomed B-1B

The near simultaneous failure of two hydraulic systems on a B-1B bomber after landing April 4 at an air base in Southwest Asia ultimately led to the aircraft’s destruction, Air Combat Command announced Oct. 1 in reporting the findings of...

Lakenheath F-15s Patrol Baltic Skies

Four F-15s and about 130 airmen from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, Britain, recently deployed to Siauliai, Lithuania, where, as of Oct. 1, they are now protecting the air sovereignty of NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. “The...

Lakenheath Gets F-15E Training Center

Boeing and the Air Force on Sept. 30 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 48th Fighter Wing’s new F-15E mission training center at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, Britain. The MTC, which has two simulators for cockpits and two for weapon...

NATO C-17 Plan Advances

After two years of negotiations, NATO announced Wednesday that it is taking “a big step forward” by implementing its plans to acquire and operate three C-17 transports to support alliance activities around the globe. Moving forward is possible now that...

Pentagon Approves Israeli F-35 Sale

The Pentagon has informed Congress of its intent to sell Israel at least 25 F-35 stealth fighters and perhaps as many as 75 of them under a proposed foreign military sale. The deal has a total potential value of $15.2...

Airmen Support Medical Exercise

More than 20 US service personnel with Joint Task Force-Bravo, including airmen, deployed Sept. 23 to Laurel, Costa Rica, to take part in a US-Costa Rican medical-readiness exercise Sept. 25-27 in two remote villages. US airlift was a huge contributor,...

Air Sorties from SWA

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaOct. 1, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 29 15 44 9,872 CAS/Armed Recon 59 50 109 28,088 Airlift 119 119 35,487 Air refueling 45 45 13,876 Total 317 87,323...