Daily Report

April 6, 2016

KC-46 Boom Testing Delayed

Boom trouble has delayed KC-46 tanker refueling trials, reported Flightglobal. A turbulent “bow wave effect” generated when connecting with the C-17 created “higher-than-expected boom axial loads” and prevented the system from passing fuel, according to the April 4 article. Additional...

Go East, Young Airman

Though he’s “satisfied” with the current base structure in Europe, Gen. Frank Gorenc, head of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, said his command is looking to “explore” using many more airfields on the continent. Gorenc, who specifically mentioned...

Northern Exposure

Besides expanding to NATO and smaller bases in the East and South of Europe, US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa chief Gen. Frank Gorenc thinks NATO should be looking North, as well. The “high North” will become an issue,...

European Raptors

Last year’s “Rapid Raptor” deployment of four F-22s to Europe was the “logical first step” on a “journey” that may lead to deploying F-22s on the continent, US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa chief Gen. Frank Gorenc told defense...

USAF Officer Nominations Go to Senate

President Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Joseph Lengyel to serve as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau. If confirmed by the Senate, Lengyel, who currently serves as the National Guard Bureau vice chief, would pin on a fourth...

Carter Proposes Changes to Goldwater-Nichols

The role and authority of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must be clarified because in this “increasingly complex security environment,” the US is “not postured to be as agile as we could be,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter...

McCain: Elevate CYBERCOM

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday he will propose using the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act to make US Cyber Command a unified combatant command. CYBERCOM is currently a sub-unified command subordinate to US Strategic...

Big Data, Big Target

Hackers are increasingly targeting large collections of data, said Adm. Michael Rogers, head of US Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, on Tuesday when discussing US vulnerabilities. The power of big-data analytics, he told the Senate Armed...

Carter Says More Acquisition Reform Needed

While the acquisition system has improved since the advent of the Better Buying Power initiative, it still must be streamlined, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. While moving to make the service...

Construction Woes at Afghan Air Force University

Though the Afghan Air Force University’s renovations and new construction was generally completed appropriately, an investigation found some shoddy workmanship, improper maintenance, and other problems, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. The contractor failed...