Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper’s new “Century Series” concept for building future fighter aircraft will succeed or fail based on how well the Air Force manages six issues: protecting the fighter ecosystem; rewarding design; sharing components; prioritizing numbers of aircraft designs over numbers of individual aircraft; building aircraft for planned obsolescence; and changing the broader industry.

Air Force B-52s from three bases completed two complex, long-range training missions in less than a week, showcasing the bomber’s range and ability to integrate with each other and forces on the ground. On Nov. 21, B-52s from Minot AFB,...

Two A-10 pilots with the 303rd Fighter Squadron earlier this month received Distinguished Flying Crosses for their actions in 2008 and 2010 battles in Afghanistan, in which the pilots were credited with saving US forces and eliminating dozens of Taliban fighters. The pilots, Maj. John “Sapper” Tice and Lt. Col. Anthony “Crack” Roe, received the awards after a long nomination process that required additional information being submitted for consideration. “This is an incredibly unique and rare event,” said Lt. Col. Rick Mitchell, commander of the 303rd FS at Whiteman AFB, Mo., according to a release. “Very rarely is the Distinguished Flying Cross awarded. Even more rarely is the Distinguished Flying Cross awarded twice in the same day to two members of the exact same fighter squadron.”

The Air Force on Nov. 20 officially retired the Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile, a mainstay of long-range conventional strike since it entered service. Airmen at Barksdale AFB, La., downloaded and disassembled the last AGM-86D CALCM package from a B-52 during a small ceremony that included retired airmen who worked with the missile, according to Air Force Global Strike Command. The command is retiring the missile as more advanced, long-range, stand-off weapons enter service, such as the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range. The Air Force is also developing the Long-Range Standoff weapon to replace the nuclear AGM-86B, which was the basis for the CALCM, with a possible conventional version to follow.

Thirteen French soldiers were killed late Nov. 25 when two helicopters collided during counter terrorism operations in Mali, the country’s leadership announced. The helicopters, a Eurocopter AS532 Cougar and a Eurocopter Tigre attack chopper, collided while flying low to the ground in total darkness as French commandos pursued a group of extremists, according to the French defense ministry.