Based on the program laid out in the KC-X tanker request for proposal issued on Wednesday, the Air Force plans to take delivery of the first production-version KC-X airframe in Fiscal 2015, according to Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Karen...

As of Thursday, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), House Armed Services Committee chairman, said he's still "unconvinced" that terminating the F-35 strike fighter competing engine program "makes sense." Skelton's comments came one day after he said his committee "finally received" the Pentagon's updated business case assessment that purportedly justifies its plan to scrap the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine and go forward with only Pratt & Whitney's F135 powerplant, which is already in production. Skelton said his committee has done a cursory examination and believes the Defense Department is focused on near-term costs to the exclusion of the projected long-term benefits of having two engine suppliers. Further, it does not seem to factor the risk of having just one engine type for the thousands of F-35s the US military will field. "We cannot use near-sighted vision when long-term security is at stake," he said. (Skelton statement) (HASC fact sheet, including DOD's updated assessment)

To lessen the tremendous burden on its fleet of EC-130H Compass Call communications jamming aircraft, the Air Force is requesting funds in Fiscal 2011 to acquire one additional EC-130 aircraft, Maj. Gen. David Scott, director of operational capability requirements on...

The Air Force would like to start the development of a new podded electronic attack system in Fiscal 2011 that would be carried by manned platforms or unmanned aircraft to jam enemy communications and remotely controlled improvised explosive devices in...

Responding to questions from House lawmakers Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz expressed some concern over the timing of the Obama Administration’s push to repeal the Pentagon’s “don’t ask-don’t tell” policy. “This is not...

Specialists with the 480th Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB, Va., are scheduled on Friday to conclude Sentinel Focus 10A, a five-day review of the Air Force’s distributed common ground system. This scrub was meant to identify areas of optimization in...

Approximately 500 airmen and 21 combat aircraft are scheduled to participate in Cope Tiger 2010 that kicks off March 1 at Korat and Udon Thani Royal Thai Air Force Bases. This iteration of the annual multilateral air exercise runs through...

Under the tutelage of Air Force advisors, Lt. Faiz Ramaki on Feb. 23 became the first Afghan National Army Air Corps pilot qualified to fly his nation’s new C-27 transports. On that day, he completed his check ride from Kabul...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Feb. 21, 2010 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 34 21 55 2,965 CAS/Armed Recon 18 63 81 4,560 Airlift 178 178 8,308 Air refueling 40 40 2,142 Total 354 17,975 OIF=Operation Iraqi...