Two US Service Members Killed in Afghanistan

Two US service members died after coming under fire in the Kunduz province of Afghanistan Thursday, according to a Pentagon press release. Four other US service members were wounded in the same train, advise, and assist mission while assisting Afghan...

Pentagon Halts Talks, Imposes F-35 Contract

The Pentagon cut off negotiations with Lockheed Martin on Lot 9 production of the F-35 fighter, announcing late Wednesday it is unilaterally definitizing the contract for the 57 jets in the lot at a price of $6.1 billion. A Joint...

Cost Reductions From One-Way Contract

At the dollar amount the government unilaterally imposed on Lockheed Martin for Lot 9 F-35 production, there will be a “3.7 percent reduction (weighted average) from the (Low Rate Initial Production) 8 contract signed in December 2014, and an overall...

And What About Lot 10?

Joint Strike Fighter program manager Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan acknowledged to reporters at AFA’s Air, Space and Cyber conference in September that F-35 Lot 9 and 10 production talks—the two lots were being negotiated together—were dragging on, but he expected...

Hyten Takes Command of STRATCOM

Gen. John Hyten took command of US Strategic Command at Offutt AFB, Neb., on Thursday. Hyten, who had commanded Air Force Space Command since August 2014, replaced Adm. Cecil Haney, who had been at the STRATCOM helm since November 2013....

Recording Suggests al-Baghdadi Might Be Losing Grip on Power

A new voice recording purportedly made by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi suggests the group’s ability to control its fighters “has been severely reduced,” Col. John Dorrian, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said Thursday. Al-Baghdadi reportedly called...

The Isolation Puzzle

Coalition forces have liberated about 50 villages from ISIS in northern Syria, beginning the isolation of the group’s stronghold in Raqqa, Syria. The Turkish-led forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces have “done quite a bit to isolate Raqqa” and “increase...

Keeping the Line Open

Pentagon officials met with their Russian counterparts via video conference Thursday to discuss the continued adherence to the agreement regarding flight safety over Syria, according to a statement by Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. “The conversation was constructive, and the two...

Lightning vs. Predator

Lightning likely caused an MQ-1B Predator to crash in the US Central Command area of responsibility in October 2015, Air Combat Command investigators found. The remotely piloted aircraft was assigned to the 432nd Wing at Creech AFB, Nev., but was...

Working the Strategic Deterrence Muscles

US Strategic Command’s annual Global Thunder exercise that ended Monday included a record number of foreign participants. More than 20 representatives from the United Kingdom and Canada took part in Global Thunder 17 at Offutt AFB, Neb., according to a...

McMullen Assigned to ACC

Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein has assigned Maj. Gen. John K. McMullen to be Air Combat Command’s vice commander, the Air Force announced Thursday. McMullen will replace Maj. Gen. Jerry Harris, who has served in the role since April...