NATO Ministers Approve Spearhead Force

NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday approved several new initiatives, including the approval of a new “spearhead force” to rapidly respond to emerging crises on the continent, such as the continued crisis in Ukraine. The ministers also moved...

Legendary Test Pilot Dies

Fitzhugh “Fitz” Fulton, a highly decorated Air Force and NASA test pilot, died on Feb. 4 at the age of 89. Fulton joined the Air Force in 1943. He flew 225 Berlin Airlift missions from 1948-1949 in C-54s. During the...

JSTARS, Rising a Year Later

The Air Force’s proposed Fiscal 2016 budget continues funding development of a replacement for the E-8C JSTARS fleet, but slows fielding of the follow-on aircraft by approximately a year, according to a service budget overview. The service is looking to...

20th Air Force Gets New Cold-Weather Gear

The Air Force started issuing the Operational Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern—the same uniforms worn by troops in Afghanistan—to security force members across 20th Air Force on Feb. 2. The new uniforms include seven layers of protection against extremely cold temperatures...

D-M’s Hogs Take Part in Green Flag

Davis-Mothan AFB, Ariz., A-10 pilots and support personnel deployed to Fort Irwin, Calif., between Jan. 18 and Feb. 1 to support Green Flag 15-03, a joint service close air support exercise held at the Army’s National Training Center. The deployment...

Finessing Wind

Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold AFB, Tenn., finished a two-year, $33 million upgrade to wind tunnel 4T, used for aircraft weapon-separation testing, officials announced. “Part of our work included an extensive calibration effort,” said senior engineer Mike Mills.”F-15 model...

Meet Brazil’s New Military Airlifter

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer test-flew the new KC-390 tactical tanker/airlifter for the first time on a hop from its production facility at São José dos Campos, Brazil, Feb. 3, the company announced. “The KC-390 behaved in a docile and predictable manner,”...

Portraits in Courage

The Air Force Wednesday celebrated the service contributions of 24 exceptional airmen during the ninth Portraits in Courage ceremony in Arlington, Va. With airmen ranging from EOD techs to aviators to a fuel specialist and a paralegal, CMSAF James Cody...