Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Philip Breedlove has been tapped to take command of US Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein AB, Germany, announced the Pentagon May 11. Breedlove, in his current job since January 2011, would replace...

President Obama nominated Gen. Mark Welsh, US Air Forces in Europe commander, to succeed Gen. Norton Schwartz as Air Force Chief of Staff. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made the announcement during a Pentagon press briefing on May 10. If the...

The Air Force’s ability to fulfill its mission objectives in one conflict and then shift its forces to a second contingency in time will be crucial to the US military in the future, said Gen. Philip Breedlove, Air Force vice...

The House Armed Services Committee passed H.R. 4310, its version of the Fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill, on May 10, providing $554 billion for base national defense activities and $88.5 billion for overseas contingency operations. The full House is expected...

Maj. Gen. James Jones, Air Forces Central deputy commander, presided over the inactivation of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at an undisclosed base in Southwest Asia. The May 8 ceremony marked the end for one of the Air Force’s busiest...

A study conducted by the Program for Public Consultation found that if given a choice, the average American would cut defense spending by 23 percent in Fiscal 2013 to help reduce the federal budget deficit. That would result in a defense budget some $127 billion below Fiscal 2012 levels, according to the study, issued May 10. The Stimson Center and the Center for Public Integrity collaborated on the study. PPC questioned a random sample of 665 American adults via the Internet from April 12 to April 18. Republican respondents, on average, proposed cutting defense spending by 15 percent, or $83 billion. Democrats, on the other hand, proposed a 28-percent cut, or $155 billion. The majority of respondents chose to cut nuclear weapons, with an overall average cut of $5.1 billion, or 27 percent, in this area, making it the largest proposed cut percentage-wise in the survey. Special operations forces faired the best among the categories, although six in 10 respondents chose to decrease SOF funding, but only by 10 percent. "These views are likely to drive policymakers after the [Presidential] election," said Matthew Leatherman, a Stimson analyst during a May 10 briefing in Washington, D.C., unveiling the study results. (PPC release) (PPC study full document; caution, large file.)

Fifty-four percent of Americans polled as part of a newly released study favored canceling the F-35 strike fighter and instead upgrading legacy fighters in order to help reduce the federal budget deficit. Fifty-nine percent of self-identified Democrats, 53 percent of independents, and 48 percent of Republicans took this stance, according to the Program for Public Consultation study, issued on May 10. PPC, together with the Stimson Center and the Center for Public Integrity, polled a random sample of 665 American adults to gauge how they felt about cutting defense spending to mitigate the federal deficit. Fifty-two percent of the respondents also favored cancelling development of a long-range bomber for the Air Force. While Republicans were closely divided, 56 percent of Democrats favored cancellation as did 51 percent of independents, according to the study. (PPC release) (PPC study full document; caution, large file.)

Lockheed Martin workers earlier this month inducted the first C-5B Galaxy transport from Travis AFB, Calif., into the company’s Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program modification line in Marietta, Ga. Tail No. 0008 is the 12th C-5B to enter the Marietta...

The Air Force Test Pilot School announced the new Cyber Systems Test Course as part of its intensive year-long test pilot master’s program at Edwards AFB, Calif. “This is the first course of its kind that includes a disciplined, yet...

Britain has abandoned equipping its new class of aircraft carriers with the catapults and arresting gear needed to operate the F-35C strike fighter, opting instead to procure the F-35B short-takeoff, vertical-landing variant once again, declared Defense Minister Phillip Hammond May...

Australia’s defense ministry announced a $1.4 billion deal on May 10 to purchase 10 C-27J Spartan airlifters through a foreign military sales agreement with the United States. “Acquisition of the C-27J will significantly improve the Australian Defense Force’s ability to...