The KC-X competition will climax with a source selection in “the early part of January,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Tuesday. Speaking with defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Schwartz said the recent inadvertent disclosure of data...

The acquisition strategy for the KC-X tanker “hasn’t changed” and will not suddenly permit a two-contractor approach, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told defense reporters Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The plan is to acquire 179 aircraft from...

The Air Force responded “by the book” when it realized that it had mistakenly passed Boeing and EADS North America information on the other’s KC-X tanker bid, EADS North America chief executive officer Sean O’Keefe told reporters Monday in Washington,...

The Air Force isn’t rushing to set up a joint program with the Navy for the next generation of fighter aircraft, according to Air Combat Command’s requirements chief. Maj. Gen. Thomas Andersen, in an interview Monday, said the Air Force’s...

The Air Force is faced with the “daunting task” of having to upgrade nearly all of its space systems simultaneously, said Erin Conaton, Air Force undersecretary. Speaking to attendees at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles, she equated this...

The Air Force will see a significant amount of investment in its nuclear-capable platforms and infrastructure in the coming years, said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, Air Force Global Strike Command boss. The White House has indicated that the US will...

Although Air Force Global Strike Command reached full operational capability in September, the organization is “by no means mission-complete,” said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, AFGSC commander. As part of the command’s ongoing maturation, Klotz told attendees at AFA’s Global Warfare...

The Air Force and its industry partners launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office intelligence satellite into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. “This mission helps to ensure that vital NRO resources...

The United States must start developing a new long-range bomber soon if it wants to have it in the force by the mid 2020s, said Mark Gunzinger, a retired Air Force colonel and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic...

An issue lost in the discussion of long-range strike is the breadth of strategic alternatives that the Air Force presents to the national leadership when the nation faces scenarios requiring attack against targets at great distances, said retired Lt. Gen....

Former Air Force Secretary Thomas Reed reminded attendees at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles how, in the early 1960s, then-President Kennedy predicted that the number of nuclear weapons states would grow to as many as 20. Today, that...

As the Air Force starts to bring new space systems online, the focus should remain on affordability and reliability, David Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Orbital Sciences Corp., said at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles. He suggested disaggregating...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Nov. 15, 2010 Sortie Type OND OEF OND/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 78 103 24,395 CAS/Armed Recon 12 79 91 31,306 Airlift 171 171 55,473 Air refueling 53 53 15,509 Rescue 17 17 7,258 Total...