Daily Report

May 23, 2012

Space Inflection Point

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted the company’s Dragon robotic spacecraft into orbit from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., on May 22, according to Air Force and company officials. Dragon will now attempt the first-ever rendezvous of a commercial spacecraft...

Panetta Optimistic Pakistan Supply Routes Will Reopen

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said talks with Pakistan about re-opening critical land supply lines into Afghanistan are progressing. “We still have a way to go, but I think the good news is that we are negotiating and that we are...

First Students Graduate from Air Guard MQ-9 Schoolhouse

The first four Active Duty aircrew members recently graduated from the New York Air National Guard’s new formal training unit for the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft in Syracuse, home of the 174th Fighter Wing, according to a May 22...

Chinese Anti Access and Area Denial

The People’s Liberation Army is modernizing both its air defense and ballistic missile capabilities as a means of protecting its interests and projecting power beyond its territory, according to the Pentagon’s 2012 annual report on Chinese military developments. Air defense...

Lighter Airman Battle Uniform Available in June

The Rip-stop Airman Battle Uniform will be available at select stateside bases and through the Army and Air Force Exchange Service online beginning in June, announced Air Force officials May 22. The lighter, cooler RABU has material made of a...

Staying Right on Track

The Air Force’s Active Duty component met its numerical recruiting accession goals through April, the seventh month of Fiscal 2012, according to the Pentagon’s newest recruiting data, released on May 22. The Active Duty force brought in 16,309 accessions, exactly...

Ejection Seat Found from B-52 Crash in 1963

A Maine forest ranger has found an ejection seat from the 1963 crash of a B-52C bomber in western Maine and intends to bring the seat to the permanent memorial site being created to honor the aircrew who died in...