Daily Report

June 8, 2015

KC-46 Blooms a Boom

A KC-46A Pegasus test airframe flew in the tanker configuration for the first time on a certification flight earlier last week, manufacturer Boeing announced. Provisioned 767-2C test airframe EMD-1 took off with both the KC-46’s planned flying boom, and twin,...

Hesterman: Air War in Iraq Not Like Past Campaigns

The coalition air component commander for Iraq and Syria sharply rejected the growing criticism of the air campaign Friday, arguing that the air tactics used in previous conflicts “do not apply” to the fight against a terrorist organization that does...

No Micromanagement of Iraq Campaign, Air Boss Says

The coalition air component commander for the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria said he understands the “frustration” expressed by some pilots over their inability to hit enemy targets on every mission, but denied that was caused by “micromanagement”...

AIB Report on F-35A Engine Fire Released

“Catastrophic engine failure” caused the June 23, 2014, engine fire in an F-35A strike fighter assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., according to a summary of the accident investigation board report, released June 5. “The engine...

Presidential Nominations

President Obama has nominated Gen. Darren McDew to lead US Transportation Command. McDew, who has commanded Air Mobility Command since May 2014, would replace Gen. Paul Selva, who has been tapped to serve as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

A New Way to Use JTACs

The US-led air campaign in Iraq and Syria does use American joint tactical air controllers to approve air strikes, although none are operating with Iraqi ground forces, the coalition air component commander said Friday. “We’re using JTACS and using them...

Studying Battlefield Airmen Fitness Standards

Some two-dozen battlefield airmen assigned to the 26th Special Tactics Squadron at Cannon AFB, N.M., participated in a two-month physical fitness study aimed at scientifically measuring operational mission requirements. Members of the Air Force Fitness Testing and Stardards Unit at...

Baltic Games

NATO’s annual US-led Baltops exercise, involving 49 ships and some 60 aircraft from 17 Alliance and Partnership for Peace countries, got underway in the Baltic Sea late last week, officials announced. “This exercise represents an important opportunity for our forces,...

USAF Elevates Discharge Authority for Transgendered Airmen

The Air Force has elevated decision authority for involuntary separation for transgendered enlisted airmen to the director of the Air Force Review Boards Agency, according to a June 4 release. The move does not change the policy but is meant...

Troubled Spirit’s Sanctuary at MacDill

A B-2, serial number 89-0129, known as the “Spirit of Georgia,” made an emergency landing at MacDill AFB, Fla., following in-flight avionics and communications failures on April 23, officials announced on June 10. The B-2 pilots established communications with MacDill...