Air Force senior leaders have directed a force-wide civilian hiring freeze, announced service officials on Thursday. Commanders were also directed to release temporary employees and not renew term employees, states the Air Force’s Jan. 17 release. These are among the...

There’s a “lot of concern” about North Korea’s growing long-range ballistic missile capabilities, said Air Force Space Command boss Gen. William Shelton on Thursday. “They have tried several times to get to orbit and they did get to orbit this...

The Air Force expects to award an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for commercially hosted satellite payloads by the end of the calendar year, said Gen. William Shelton, head of Air Force Space Command. “That will basically provide a path to on-ramp capabilities,”...

Air Force nuclear deterrence planners are building the requirements for the service’s future air-launched nuclear cruise missile and will likely choose which warhead will go on the weapon this spring, said Billy Mullins, associate director of strategic deterrence and nuclear...

Pratt & Whitney handed over the 507th and final F-119 production engine for the F-22 to the Air Force in a ceremony Thursday at the company's production facility in Middletown, Conn. "This is a bittersweet occasion for those of us who have played a part in 12 years of successful production deliveries," said Bennett Croswell, the company's president of military engines, at the ceremony, according to the company's Jan. 17 release. "The F119 production engine program might be ending but we look forward to a 30- to 40-year sustainment period in partnership with the Air Force to keep the fleet flying," he added. Two F119s power each F-22. Pratt & Whitney delivered the first F-119 to the Air Force in December 2000, and announced the delivery of the 500th F119 last September. Pratt & Whitney has partnered with the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker AFB, Okla., to manage scheduled F119 overhauls. The F119 is the forefather of the F-35 strike fighter's F135 propulsion system. Due to a lull between the end of F-119 production and the transition to full-up F135 manufacture, the company is shedding some 350 employees, reported the Hartford Courant.

The Air Force has announced the winners of the 2012 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award, according to a Jan. 17 release from the Air Force Personnel Center. They are: Lt. Col. Nathan Green, assigned to Hurlburt Field, Fla., senior officer...

NATO is amalgamating its air headquarters at Izmir, Turkey, and Ramstein AB, Germany, creating the single Allied Air Command, or HQ AIRCOM, at Ramstein, according to a Jan. 17 alliance release. This is part of the alliance’s broader efforts to...

US Special Operations Command announced its interest in fielding an all-terrain combat rescue vehicle small enough to fit inside a V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. SOCOM wants a non-developmental armed, lightweight, wheeled vehicle that is capable of carrying three to six litter...

Salvage experts last month raised a rare Navy FM-2 Wildcat fighter from the floor of Lake Michigan near Chicago. “This effort will lead to another important World War II aircraft being presented to the American public,” said retired Navy Capt....