Daily Report

April 24, 2014

It’s Official: Altus, McConnell to get KC-46A

The first Active Duty-led KC-46A main operating base will be located at McConnell AFB, Kan., and the formal Pegasus training unit will be based at Altus AFB, Okla., announced the Air Force Wednesday. “Making a final basing decision is an...

The Necessity of a Shrinking Air Force

The Navy is spending more on its aircraft programs than the Air Force in the Fiscal 2015 budget, while at the same time, USAF is divesting entire fleets and pushing modernization dollars to the right. Chief of Staff Gen. Mark...

Pulling on a Thread

If the Air Force doesn’t get to divest the A-10 fleet, a whole series of mission shifts involving the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve will unravel, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said Wednesday. Speaking at the National...

A-10: Been There, Considered That

If the Air Force kept the 42 A-10s it has already re-winged and got rid of the rest, it would only save $1 billion versus the $4.2 billion saved by taking down the whole fleet, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark...

A Journey, not a Destination

The Air Force is focused on a new guiding concept called “strategic agility,” which is more about institutional change than any one mission or capability, said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh during a speech Wednesday at the National Press...

Australia Ups Lightning II Buy

Australia announced it will buy 58 additional F-35A Lightning IIs, boosting the Royal Australian Air Force’s planned fleet to 72 aircraft as part of an overall $12.4 billion package, officials announced. The Lightning II is slated to replace the RAAF’s...

Catching a Bad Drift

An Air Force-contracted DHC-8 Prospector aircraft crashed last October because the crew accidently drifted inland and impacted terrain during a counter narcotics mission off the Colombian coast, according to an April 23 Air Combat Command release. Four of the six...

Developing Technologies

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visited the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Va., this week to see what new technologies the agency is developing. On his April 22 visit, Hagel met with patients and researchers developing a robotic arm...

Ramping up Arms

A recent Congressional Research Service report found no evidence that Iran and North Korea are exchanging nuclear weapons, but there is “significant and meaningful” cooperation between the two countries on ballistic missile technology. Both countries also have provided Syria with...