Daily Report

Nov. 12, 2015

Senate Passes NDAA

The Senate voted 91-3 on Tuesday to pass the revised Fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill, sending the legislation to President Obama, who is expected to sign it. The $600 billion bill authorizes defense spending and policies for Fiscal 2016; Obama...

Selling LRS-B Will Be Tough

The Air Force has its work cut out for it in getting Congress to fund the Long-Range Strike Bomber, according to panelists at a Tuesday AFA Mitchell Institute discussion about the new jet in Arlington, Va. Mackenzie Eaglen, fellow at...

LRS-B Versus Standoff Missiles

The Long-Range Strike Bomber will be a difficult sell to Congress because of short-sighted math, said retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute. Congress will only be able to see the LRS-B as yet another expensive stealth...

Major RPA Restructure Coming

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh will announce a major restructure of the remotely piloted aircraft career field’s force structure and basing by “early next week,” Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle...

Eagle Eyes in the Neighborhood

The F-15Cs deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey, will be performing combat air patrols and “defensive counterair” missions, but are also there to help keep Russian and coalition aircraft from dangerous encounters, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Tuesday....

F-35 Buy Number Still Solid

The Air Force’s plan to acquire 1,763 F-35s is still good … for now, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle told defense reporters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. The Air Force is not ignoring Congress’ request for an updated...

F-35 Open Mission Systems?

The F-35 will eventually be an Open Mission Systems platform, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Tuesday. Speaking with defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Carlisle said OMS—which allows new sensors, software packages and other upgrades to a platform...

A Little to the Right…

Retiring the A-10 Warthog attack jet will have to happen, but perhaps not as fast as the Air Force wanted, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Tuesday. Speaking with defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Carlisle said he’ll use...

Otis Ground Station Fully Operational

The Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing declared full operational capability as an intel unit, with the opening of a new $17.6 million facility and associated equipment at Otis ANGB, Mass., Nov. 7. The Distributed Common Ground System hub...

BUFF Enough to Push It

Two B-52s flew a 26-hour, nonstop mission from Barksdale AFB, La., to southern Europe, conducting a series of scenarios during NATO’s largest integration exercise in 20 years, officials announced. Two aircraft conducted a “show of force” over the San Gregorio...

Fostering International Partnerships

The US must continue to build and maintain partnerships with other nations because strong relationships can’t be built overnight and a coalition is critical in complex situations like the fight against ISIS, Maj. Gen. Lawrence Martin, assistant deputy undersecretary of...

Correction

An entry in the Nov. 10 column incorrectly stated the number of airstrikes the United States has conducted against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. The number is 6,257. Coalition forces other than the US have conducted 1,735. We have...