The Air Force will be the source-selection authority in the KC-X tanker contest, which is set to restart shortly, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday in his remarks at AFA’s Air & Space Conference. His announcement, which returns to the...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he is committed to seeing that the US military has “an airborne, long-range strike capability,” a prospective B-3 bomber, if you will. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Gates said, however, the Pentagon...

The long-awaited new mobility requirements study will soon be complete and be released by December, the commander of Air Mobility Command told reporters at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Tuesday. Gen. Arthur Lichte said the new document will include an...

Air Mobility Command’s Gen. Arthur Lichte told reporters Tuesday that the Air Force has been refining the requirements for the upcoming reboot of the KC-X competition. “I think they will stand up,” Lichte said of the new requirements, which are...

The Air Force nuclear enterprise—after missteps two years ago and a year’s worth of reinvigoration, reorganization, and re-focus—is “not out of the woods” yet, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Sept. 15. Addressing AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Schwartz...

The Senate Appropriations Committee last week included language in its defense bill markup urging the Air Force to start work toward an exportable version of the F-22, but Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz Sept. 15 at AFA’s Air &...

Asked what the Air Force can do to keep aerospace talent intact until the next round of combat aircraft design begins—possibly five years or more—Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Sept. 15, pointed...

Gen. Arthur Lichte, commander of Air Mobility Command, indicated that the additional C-17s coming into the fleet as a result of Congressional add-ons to the 2010 defense budget will affect the current airlift mix—and is pushing the force closer to...

Adversary surface-to-air systems are making it tougher to guarantee the US can go where it wants to perform air missions, according to Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. In a talk Sept. 15...

Potential adversaries are going to school on the Air Force, and unless the service invests thought and resources into staying ahead, it will meet its military match. That was the message Tuesday from Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of...

The Air Force’s lead organization for nuclear-capable bombers, 8th Air Force at Barksdale AFB, La., will officially shed its non-bomber wings on Oct. 1 as part of its transition to Air Force Global Strike Command by next February, Maj. Gen....

Joint Forces Command officials find there are questions about the role of airpower—and the perceived role of airpower—in joint operations. And, some of the “implications” laid out in JFCOM’s Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (CCJO) led to a lively exchange...

Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner Jr., Air Force Reserve chief, said Sept. 15 that the next major budget that the Air Force will put together—its proposal for Fiscal 2012—will provide an important opportunity for the service to establish “the way ahead”...

“We all saw it coming,” Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Resonnaissance, said Tuesday about the hard choices confronting Air Force leaders because of constrained funding. “We all knew that in 2010 the boomers...

Get used to the era of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), according to Lt. Gen. David Deptula, Air Force deputy chief of staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. “They’re not a fad,” he said, since an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can...

The Air Force’s new cyber operations arm, 24th Air Force, is coming together nicely, but there is still unchartered territory ahead and “a lot of room for discovery” in optimizing the service’s activities in the cyber realm, Gen. Robert Kehler,...

Gen. Stephen Lorenz, commander of Air Education and Training Command, told reporters Sept. 15 at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that USAF has just started work to gain Joint Requirements Oversight Council validation of a requirement for a successor to...

As the White House works to secure a new treaty with Russia on nuclear force levels by the end of the year, Maj. Gen. Roger Burg, who oversees the nation’s land-based strategic deterrent as head of 20th Air Force, offered...

Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner Jr., Air Force Reserve chief, said Tuesday he is relocating next month from the Washington, D.C., area where he has maintained a headquarters to Robins AFB, Ga., home of Air Force Reserve Command, the major command...

“We as an Air Force should not apologize to anybody for providing a high-quality of services … at our installations,” said Lt. Gen. Richard Newton III, deputy chief of staff for personnel. Speaking Sept. 15 at AFA’s Air & Space...

Hawker Beechcraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin have joined forces to compete for USAF’s new light attack aircraft, the companies announced Sept. 15. Hawker already announced plans to offer an attack version of its T-6 trainer. Lockheed will provide mission systems...

According to two British news reports, the US Air Force will draw down uniformed airmen and US civilian personnel at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. The UK Ministry of Defence said the drawdown will also affect some 100 British...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Sept. 12, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 29 31 60 11,285 CAS/Armed Recon 22 82 104 24,678 Airlift 138 138 33,711 Air refueling 47 47 12,107 Total 349 81,781 OIF=Operation Iraqi...