The Senate voted Thursday with a bipartisan majority to arm and train Syrian opposition forces. The move comes one day after the House approved a similar measure. “The strong bipartisan support” by an often gridlocked Congress “shows the world that...
Despite longeron cracks in two-seat F-16s and engine restrictions in F-35s, Air Education and Training Command is continuing to fly those training programs, AETC boss Gen. Robin Rand said Wednesday. In a press conference at AFA’s Air & Space Conference...
After countless attempts to get a replacement for the T-38 Talon, the T-X trainer program is finally in the Air Force budget that just went to the Pentagon leadership, Air Education and Training Command chief Gen. Robin Rand said Wednesday....
The Air Force’s proposed reduction in force—included in its Fiscal 2016 program objective memoranda recently submitted to Pentagon leaders—will top out at “about 19,000 over the next five years,” said a service spokeswoman on Thursday. The initial forecasts had hinted...
Adm. Cecil Haney, head of US Strategic Command, on Thursday said he plans to meet with the leadership of the Air Force’s nuclear-capable bomber community at the end of October to discuss the air leg of the US nuclear deterrent....
Air Force and Energy Department engineers performed tests in the past six months to verify that the modified B61 nuclear bomb in development will fit on the F-15E and F-16, said Frank Klotz, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration,...
Boeing Defense President Chris Chadwick offered a tiny peak at the classified Long-Range Strike Bomber program in his Wednesday remarks at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. Asked how Boeing competes with Lockheed Martin on many projects,...
As Iraq’s completed but undelivered F-16s sit waiting for Iraq and the US to decide what to do with them, Iraq’s F-16 pilots continue to train in the US, Air Education and Training Command chief Gen. Robin Rand said Wednesday....
Sequestration and the onerous effort required to do government contracting is causing many Air Force suppliers at the second tier and below to “walk away,” Boeing Defense President Chris Chadwick said Wednesday. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in...
Airmen will need to “bring their A-game” because “performance is No. 1,” under the new enlisted evaluation and promotion systems, said CMSgt. Brandy Petzel, chief of enlisted force policy on the Air Staff. Speaking Sept. 17 at AFA’s Air &...
Air Education and Training Command doesn’t see much change in its pilot production needs, or capacity, for the next 10 years, and it will remain at about 1,000 pilots a year, AETC chief Gen. Robin Rand said Wednesday. Talking with...
The biggest priority in space at the moment is working on a replacement for the Russian-made RD-180 engine, which powers United Launch Alliance rockets, said Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition William LaPlante. Speaking during AFA’s Air & Space Conference...
The Defense Department’s General Counsel has ruled that airmen may choose to omit the words “So help me God” from enlistment and officer appointment oaths, service officials announced. The Air Force requested the opinion after an airman at Creech AFB,...
The US is now seeing the consequences of its “retreat” from its traditional role in world affairs, said Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer on Sept. 17. In recent decades, the US has played the role of “offshore balancer of last...
William LaPlante, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, said too often people ask the wrong questions when debating the best contract structure for military acquisition. “Fixed-price versus cost-plus is the false debate. It actually turns out that they...
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s view of reorganizing Western European security means “Europe without America,” which would be a Europe that Russia could dominate. That was the warning from Col. Jaak Tarien, Estonian air force commander at AFA’s Air & Space...
Although there are no “concrete” requirements for the US Air Force in response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa, the capability is there if the need arises, said US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Commander Gen. Frank Gorenc on...
Air Combat Command has approved the capabilities design document for the follow-on platform to the E-8C JSTARS ground-surveillance aircraft, said Col. Henry Cyr, 461st Air Control Wing commander at Robins AFB, Ga. The document will serve as the foundation for...
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s popularity is at an all-time high at home because many Russians see him as “a savior” who is standing up to “a corrupt NATO” and West that are threatening Russia with nuclear weapons and trying to...
The United States accounts for 75 percent of NATO defense spending, but small- and medium-sized air forces in NATO face many of the same challenges as the much larger US Air Force, said Norwegian air force Col. John Olsen. Like...