Medical Center Expansion Starts

Air Force and Army officials, including the surgeon general of each service, broke ground Dec. 8 in San Antonio, Tex., on the new $724 million construction and renovation project to unify the Air Force’s Wilford Hall Medical Center and the...

Young Directs TSAT Changes

Pentagon weapons czar John Young has instructed the Air Force to proceed without delay with a restructure of the transformational satellite communications program. Young signed an acquisition decision memorandum Dec. 3 instructing the Air Force to pursue “a phased approach...

ANG Tanker Wings Gain Active Duty Airmen

The Air Force announced yesterday that three Air National Guard KC-135 wings will become active associate units beginning next summer, and are expected to assume full operations under the new construct by September 2011. Under this Total Force initiative, active...

Tyndall Hosts Joint Live-Fire Training

Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets from NAS Oceana, Va., joined F-15Cs from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and F-15Es from Seymour-Johnson AFB, N.C., Dec. 8 for two days of joint live-fire training at Tyndall AFB, Fla. The event marked the start of a...

Special Operations Group Recognized

The Air Force announced in late November that the 353rd Special Operations Group at Kadena AB, Japan, has earned the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor for its “exceptionally meritorious service” from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2008....

Aerospace Industry Remains Resilient

While the US aerospace industry’s boom days may be coming to a close, it remains well-positioned to survive economic hard times, Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Marion Blakey said yesterday. “The gangbuster trends of the last few years for...

F-35 Avionics Testing Progresses

The Lockheed Martin-led industry team developing the F-35 stealth fighter has begun in-flight integration and verification of the fighter’s mission systems suite aboard the cooperative avionics test bed, or “CATBird,” aircraft, the company announced Dec. 8. These activities commenced with...

Looking to Nature

Two Air Force Office of Scientific Research-sponsored university projects into how bats and insects flap their wings to maneuver in tight spots, yet remain stable in adverse weather, may yield valuable insights that improve the performance of micro air vehicles....

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest Asia

Dec. 8, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 29 7 36 12,616 CAS/Armed Recon 47 63 110 35,077 Airlift 130 130 44,275 Air refueling 46 46 17,070 Total 322 109,038 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...