Setting aside unreasonably high expectations, the F-22’s reliability rates are entirely “respectable” and its performance today is not meant to be judged by metrics intended for when the fighter fleet reaches maturity, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz...

The additional funds cited by the Office of the Secretary of Defense—about $8.3 billion—to improve the capability of F-22s already in the fleet are meant to expand the aircraft’s air-to-ground capabilities, as opposed to making up for deficiencies in their...

Despite the doubt expressed last year by the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer on the need for a new dedicated fleet of combat search and rescue helicopters, there has been no similar pushback from the warfighting community questioning the need for...

During his Feb. 17 meeting with defense reporters (see above), the Air Force’s top uniformed official, Gen. Norton Schwartz, discussed the Air Force’s commitment to the joint fight, including making “some adjustments” to its existing force mix, if necessary. In...

Air Force Special Operations Command wrapped up the second iteration of its Emerald Warrior exercise on Feb. 13, marking the command’s first joint and coalition exercise that focuses on training special operations forces from across the services and integrating them...

The 121st Air Refueling Wing and 155th ARW of the Ohio and Nebraska Air National Guards, respectively, received passing marks on their recent nuclear operational readiness inspections concluded last week by an Air Mobility Command inspector general team. The two...

One of the two EC-130 Compass Call squadrons supporting Southwest Asia operations on Feb. 17 surpassed 20,000 combat flying hours, amassed over five years of continuous deployment. The 43rd Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron, which hit the 17,500-hour mark in late...

The Illinois Congressional delegation, led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D), Rep. Jerry Costello (D), and Rep. John Shimkus (R), last week sent Air Force Secretary Michael Donley a letter, urging him to locate the service's new cyber central at Scott AFB, Ill. In their view, Scott can handle additional missions—it already houses US Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command, an AMC numbered air force, and numerous other Air Force and DOD entities—and, in Costello's words in a joint statement, is "a perfect fit" for USAF's new cyber NAF. Scott is on the list of potential sites the Air Force released last month, but it faces stiff competition from the other five locations, including Barksdale AFB, La., which currently hosts the start-up cyber operation. According to the Illinois delegation's letter, the St. Louis area offers "the scientific and technical expertise needed in the Cyber Command workforce." And, it states, "The security and force protection exceed Air Force standards and guidelines and are well suited to support Cyber Command requirements and high-speed network capacity." Durbin notes, too, that Scott plays "an essential role … in the region's economy" and the new NAF would "create more good-paying jobs in the Metro-East area."

The collision of a non-functioning Russian military satellite (out of service for more than a decade) with an operational Iridium communications sat last week did not come up on the Air Force Space Command radar because neither was on the...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaFeb. 13-15, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 78 43 121 1,782 CAS/Armed Recon 122 185 307 4,565 Airlift 410 410 5,898 Air refueling 136 136 2,120 Total 974 14,365...