The 319th Missile Squadron headquartered at FE Warren AFB, Wyo., overseer of 50 Minuteman III ICBMs, experienced “a disruption of communications” between its five launch control centers and the missiles on Saturday, Lt. Col. John Thomas, Air Force Global Strike...

The Government Accountability Office has urged the Defense Department to defer a production decision on the extended-range variant of the Air Force's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile until DOD officials re-evaluate the JASSM program's affordability and cost-effectiveness. DOD has tentatively scheduled a review in November to decide whether JASSM-ER is ready to enter low-rate production. "A reevaluation of the JASSM program, given that most of its costs have yet to be incurred, is warranted before the decision to produce the JASSM-ER is made," reads GAO's October report. GAO acknowledges that the baseline JASSM's performance has "significantly" improved since 2007 and that the JASSM-ER has done well in its testing so far. But it still has concerns over cost growth in the program. DOD, responding to GAO's recommendation, asserted that JASSM-ER is ready for a production decision and has met expectations in flight tests. (Lockheed statement)

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has appointed Teri Takai as the Pentagon’s new chief information officer, the Defense Department announced Tuesday. She is scheduled to assume her new duties on Nov. 7. Takai has been the state of California’s CIO since...

Ten F-15Cs from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, Britain, have arrived at the 71st Air Base in Campia Turzii, Romania, for a large-scale NATO interoperability exercise with the Romanian air force. They will fly with Romanian Mig-21s during...

Two C-130 transports from the Texas Air National Guard’s 136th Airlift Wing at Fort Worth, Tex., and 27 mobility airmen from various USAF units participated in exercise Cooperation 1 in Chile. SICOFAA, the organization for the air forces of the...

Based side-by-side on the island of Guam, the 36th Mobility Response Squadron and Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 practiced cooperation vital to disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in the Pacific region. Their joint field exercise focused on coordinating evacuation...

Lockheed Martin has announced that it has partnered with ARINC of Annapolis, Md., to compete for the rights to supply the Air Force’s Deployable Radar Approach Control system. Air Force officials envision D-RAPCON as a deployable radar system for establishing...

More than 250 paintings have gone on display at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Air Force Art Program. These paintings, all of which the artists donated to...

Mongolian air force personnel have joined NATO’s mission to train the Afghan air force. These Mongolian advisors are experienced with the Mi-17 helicopters that the Afghans currently fly and share a similar culture, and, in some cases, a common language....

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Oct. 18-19, 2010 Sortie Type OND OEF OND/OEF Total YTD ISR 43 149 192 21,937 CAS/Armed Recon 26 188 214 28,462 Airlift 371 371 50,701 Air refueling 105 105 14,156 Rescue 65 65 6,515 Total...