SSgt. Kenneth J. Wilburn, a 30-year-old combat controller apprentice, died Jan. 12, three days after he lost consciousness during a water treading exercise Jan. 9 at a training pool at Lackland AFB, Tex. According to a Jan. 13 statement, Wilburn...

The Air Force’s nuclear community just got a morale-boosting shot in the arm with the news that the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord AFB, Wash., has passed its just-completed Nuclear Surety Inspection, receiving “the highest possible grade” of satisfactory. The...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week reiterated to senior members of the House Armed Services Committee that his approach to preserving the F-22 production option for the new Administration is “prudent” and “a conscious effort to minimize risk to the taxpayer.” But, he did offer a few new details. In a Jan. 9 letter, Gates states that the decision to release only $50 million of the $140 authorized by Congress for long-lead parts and materials for more F-22s—until the new Administration decides whether to keep buying more F-22s—will not have a detrimental impact on the cost of any additional Raptors. This, he said, is because the not-to-exceed cost estimates that F-22 maker Lockheed Martin provided remain valid until March 16, by which time the Administration of President-elect Obama is required to notify Congress of its F-22 intentions. Gates also notes that the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in an amendment to its Nov. 10, 2008 directive that released the $50 million, authorized the Air Force to purchase long-lead titanium for an extra lot of 20 F-22s. Even if the Obama Administration terminates F-22 production, this titanium could still be used for the F-35 or other programs, he wrote.

Two C-17s left Travis AFB, Calif., on Jan. 10 en route to Kigali, Rwanda, via Ramstein AB, Germany, to carry out the US airlift operation announced last week by President Bush to support African Union and UN peacekeepers in the...

Ten of the 12 Raptors deploying to Kadena AB, Japan, from Langley AFB, Va., have touched down on Okinawan soil, with the remaining two due any day, according to service officials. Six of the Raptors arrived at Kadena on Jan....

Space-related cooperation between NASA and the Air Force and Intelligence Community has “never been better,” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told reporters Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Appearing at an event sponsored by the Space Foundation, Griffin said he is very satisfied...

Yesterday we reported that the new combat-coded B-52 unit that the Air Force plans to establish at Minot AFB, N.D., will apparently be designated the 69th Bomb Squadron. This was based on a report by a local Minot newspaper, citing...

December recruiting data for the month of December released by the Pentagon Jan. 12 is good across the board, with all services and reserve components reporting that they achieved at least 100 percent of their goals. As it did last...

The Air Force Research Lab is once again pushing ahead the launch of the tactical satellite-3 to resolve an issue with the experimental spacecraft’s avionics. AFRL announced last November that it needed more time to test the satellite’s flight software...

The Air Force has chosen Northrop Grumman over Lockheed Martin to supply the next-generation missile warning systems sensor that will enhance the capability of the large aircraft infrared countermeasures system that protects aircraft from shoulder-fired, heat seeking missiles. In a...

Danish politicians last week approved a new probe into the circumstances surrounding the 1968 crash of a B-52 bomber off the coast of northern Greenland near Thule Air Base. The aircraft was purportedly carrying four nuclear bombs, one of which...

Jan. 10-11, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 38 13 51 410 CAS/Armed Recon 75 129 204 1,118 Airlift 240 240 1,372 Air refueling 93 93 523 Total 588 3,423 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...