USAF Sounds Alarm on Long-Term CR

Air Force officials are sounding the alarm in Washington on a possible long-term continuing resolution, saying the avoidance of a budget deal would stop 60 new starts and upgrades on existing programs. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, in a...

Another Continuous Bomber Presence

The Air Force will begin a continuing rotation of B-1 and B-52 aircraft to the Central Command area of operations, switching between the two aircraft as the current B-52 deployment wraps up. B-52s in February deployed to CENTCOM for the...

More Pay, Bases for RPAs

The Air Force is about to take two more major steps as part of its “get well” program for the remotely piloted aircraft enterprise—a big pay boost for RPA pilots and new operating bases for the aircraft. Air Force Secretary...

It’s Not a Sanctuary Anymore

Yokota AB, Japan Recent provocative actions by North Korea and China’s military buildup in the South China Sea are pushing South Korea and Japan to overcome deep-rooted tensions that date back from before World War II. “I don’t think there...

Working Harder and Smarter

Yokota AB, Japan—The Air Force has had to come up with innovative ways to keep up with an increased demand for USAF assets, time, and capability in the Pacific. Col. Kenneth Moss, commander of the 374th Airlift Wing, said there’s...

A Numbers Game

Yokota AB, Japan—The rotational air contingents to the Philippines likely will cross several numbered Air Forces and it’s not yet clear “how we will run the command and control for that,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Winkler, vice commander of 5th...

Loss of Quantity and Quality

The US-led coalition and partner forces in Iraq and Syria have killed approximately 25,000 ISIS fighters within the past year, and while a sizeable force remains, “they are not operating nearly as effectively as they have in the past,” the...

The Training Mission, By the Numbers

The US Army III Corps’ main mission as part of Operation Inherent Resolve has been training up local forces that will retake land from ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The Corps is leaving the operation shortly, to be replaced by...

Fighting Blind

To prepare pilots for a future high-end conflict in which an adversary could deny use of space-based assets, the Air Force has integrated the Army’s first space aggressor unit into Red Flag-Alaska 16-3 to degrade GPS navigation. The Army unit...

Enlisted RPA Pilot Application Process Opens

The Air Force’s first enlisted RPA pilot selection board is now soliciting applications for RQ-4 Global Hawk training. Application packages must be submitted to the Air Force Personnel Center by Nov. 18 to be considered by the board, which will...

Taking Aegis Ashore in Poland

The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $36.4 million contract to install, integrate, and test Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense equipment in Poland, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The contract includes building and equipping a deckhouse structure similar to that...