Daily Report

Oct. 25, 2016

Air Force Scores Drone Kill in ISIS Fight

The Air Force recently “shot down” an ISIS drone using electronic measures, though the service won’t say specifically how it grounded the system. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, speaking at a Center for a New American Security event Monday...

James: No-Fly Zone Difficult, but Doable

The Air Force would be able to implement a no-fly zone over Syria if asked to, and continue the anti-ISIS fight at “pace,” the service’s top civilian said. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, speaking Monday at a Center for...

Building Up the Cyber Ranks

The Air Force is building up its force in key areas after decades of downsizing that went too far, and is especially focused on recruiting new people for the cyber fight, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said. Speaking on...

Fixing What ISIS Broke

Airmen with the 1st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Group recently restored the Qayyarah West Airfield to help Iraqi forces battle ISIS in Mosul, undoing intense damage that the group inflicted on the airstrip. The unit, which is based at al Udeid...

Acquisitions Performance Best in 30 Years

Defense Department major acquisition programs are at a “30-year low in cost growth,” Frank Kendall told reporters at the Pentagon Friday. The claim was detailed in the “Performance of the Defense Acquisition System” report for 2016, which was officially released...

I’ll Take “Future Fighters,” Alex

The Pentagon is wrestling with a lot of questions about what it wants in its next generation of combat aircraft, Defense acquisition, technology, and logistics chief Frank Kendall said Friday. At a Pentagon press conference to discuss progress in acquisition...

Sing We Now of the F-35

The F-35 is “incredibly good” and “a remarkable product,” Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said Friday, but if he had the program to do over again, he would not have put all the tactical air eggs in one corporate basket....

Raytheon Picks Meridian, Miss., for T-100 Final Assembly

Raytheon will assemble the T-100 in Meridian, Miss., if it wins the Air Force’s T-X competition, the company announced Monday. The T-100 is a tailored version of the Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica) M-346 Master and would be powered by two Honeywell...

Finding the Deterrence Solution

US Strategic Command kicked off Global Thunder on Monday—an annual exercise intended to train its forces and assess joint operational readiness across all assigned mission areas. Headquarters staff, components, and task forces will participate in the command post and field...

Noble Arrow 16 Exercise Concludes

F15-E Strike Eagles from the 492nd Fighter Squadron returned to RAF Lakenheath, England, on Oct. 20 at the conclusion of exercise Noble Arrow 16. About 30 US airmen supported the joint exercise between NATO allies UK and Portugal, which began...