Air Force’s F-35 3i Software Cleared for IOC

The F-35 Joint Program Office has completed development of the software the Air Force will use to declare initial operational capability of its Joint Strike Fighter variant. Glitches in an earlier version of the Block 3i software had caused the...

F-22s Complete European Deployment

The largest F-22 Raptor deployment to Europe so far was completed on May 8. The 12 F-22s from the 95th Fighter Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Fla., and some 220 airmen deployed to RAF Lakenheath, England, for one month, during which...

Philippines Air Contingent Completes Final Mission

A contingent of A-10 Warthogs and HH-60G Pave Hawks flew its final mission in international waters west of the Philippines in late April. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the extended deployment of the aircraft and some 200 airmen, which operated...

New GPS III Contracts Awarded

Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman will compete to build the new batch of next-generation GPS III satellites. On May 5, the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center awarded the three companies phase-one production readiness feasibility contracts for the...

CRH Program Completes Preliminary Design Review

The Combat Rescue Helicopter program office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, recently completed preliminary design review of the new HH-60W aircraft, identifying operations and maintenance challenges for Sikorsky Aircraft to focus on as it moves forward. Some 200 participants from Sikorsky,...

Slowly Implementing Force Structure Recommendations

The Air Force has made “limited progress” implementing the recommendations made by the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, according to a May 6 report by the Government Accountability Office. As of February, the service had implemented...

Questions Follow Report of Iranian Missile Test

The White House is aware of Iranian officials’ conflicting reports that their country recently carried out a ballistic missile launch, spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. Questions of whether a test occurred arose after Iranian news agencies provided conflicting reports. One...

Coalition Strike Kills ISIS’ Anbar Military Emir

A coalition airstrike killed ISIS’ military emir for Iraq’s Anbar province on May 6, the Pentagon announced Monday. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Abu Wahib and three other ISIS members were killed while traveling in a vehicle near Rutbah, Iraq....