Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will award Capt. Barry F. Crawford Jr. the Air Force Cross—the second highest honor for valor in combat—at a Pentagon ceremony on April 12. On May 4, 2010, Crawford, a special tactics officer assigned to an Army special forces team in eastern Afghanistan, "placed himself at grave risk on four occasions while controlling over 33 aircraft and more than 40 airstrikes on a well-trained and well-prepared enemy force" during an intense 10-hour-plus firefight, according to his award citation (partially redacted at the Air Force's request). "His selfless actions and expert airpower employment neutralized a numerically superior enemy force and enabled friendly elements to exfiltrate the area without massive casualties," reads the citation. Crawford will become the fifth Air Force special operator to receive the Air Force Cross since Sept. 11, 2001, and only the third living recipient to receive the award during that span. Only seven other airmen have earned the honor since 1975. For the complete gripping account of Crawford's extraordinary heroism that day, read Caught in the Crossfire.

The Air Force is likely several weeks away from issuing an amended request for proposal for the Light Air Support aircraft program, said Secretary Michael Donley Thursday. “There will be a slightly revised RFP going forward,” he told defense reporters...

There have been 35 suicides across the Air Force’s active and reserve components so far this year, up from 25 at this same time last year, said CMSAF James Roy Thursday on Capitol Hill during an address sponsored by AFA’s...

The Air Force is designing its future bomber to strike targets deep in enemy territory with conventional munitions and the nuclear deterrence mission is not driving the aircraft’s requirements, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters in Washington, D.C., Thursday....

TSgt. Allen J. Avery, of Arlington, Mass., will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday—exactly 40 years to the day of his HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant crashing in Quang Tri Province in South Vietnam....

Air Force Academy cadets set a new collegiate record for the largest formation parachute jump, according to academy officials. The Wings of Blue parachute team broke the previous 41-person formation record—also held by the team—by linking 46 parachutists together in...

The first F-35A strike fighter for the Royal Netherlands Air Force emerged from Lockheed Martin’s assembly plant at Fort Worth, Tex., announced the company. Designated AN-1, the F-35A airframe is proceeding through fuel-systems checks ahead of proving flights slated for...

Dangerously short of experienced pilots, in an unprecedented move, the Royal Canadian Air Force is recruiting British pilots laid off as a result of UK defense cuts. “The goal is to achieve a swift and direct impact to address skilled...