The Pentagon is downsizing or closing 50 medical clinics, including 12 on Air Force bases, in a move the department says will “increase the readiness of our operational and medical forces.” But the change will also force families and retirees away from some USAF facilities and into TRICARE civilian providers.…
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X-37B Among Nine Projects Nominated for Collier Trophy
Feb. 19, 2020
The Air Force's X-37B reusable unmanned spaceplane is among nine nominees for the 2019 Collier Trophy, one of the aerospace field's highest honors. The Collier Trophy has been awarded for 108 years, and honors “the greatest achievement in aeronautics and astronautics in America,” the association said in announcing the 2019…
Top DOD Policy Official Stepping Down
Feb. 19, 2020
The Pentagon’s top policy official will leave his position Feb. 28 at the request of President Donald Trump in another departure of top Defense Department officials in recent weeks. John Rood, who has served as the under secretary of defense for policy, wrote in a Feb. 19 departure letter to…
Speed is an issue in developing and fielding new technology, but also in contracting for proven equipment. That’s why GE Aviation has developed a new approach to pricing designed to cut months of paperwork and manual effort from the process.
CSpOC Eyes New Space C2 Tools From Speedy Coders
Feb. 19, 2020
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—The Space Force’s Combined Space Operations Center here is finding its rhythm with “Section 31,” a software coding team tasked with regularly rolling out new space command and control apps. “Right now, onboarding new tools is a full-time job,” CSpOC boss Col. Scott Brodeur told Air…
Joint Tests Begin for New ICBM Patrol Helicopter
Feb. 19, 2020
The Air Force completed its first combined test flight of the MH-139A Grey Wolf with manufacturer Boeing on Feb. 11, the service said in a Feb. 19 release. Testing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the first time Air Force pilots get to vet the new helo, which will…
Airmen Receive New Survival Kit Rifles
Feb. 18, 2020
The Air Force recently finished delivering 2,700 new, lightweight rifles designed to be carried in an Airman's ejection seat. The Air Force Gunsmith Shop, part of the Armament Center at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, designed the 7-pound, 5.56 mm rifle, which is based on the M4 carbine.…
U.S. Airstrike Targets Al-Shabab Compound in Somalia
Feb. 18, 2020
A Feb. 17 U.S. airstrike took out an al-Shabab compound near Jilib, Somalia, U.S. Africa Command said the same day. The command didn't report whether any members of the terror organization were injured or killed in the attack. This was the fifth American airstrike that targeted al-Shabab in Somalia so…
USAF Fully Funded for Tyndall, Offutt Rebuilds
Feb. 18, 2020
The Air Force says it has all the money it needs to rebuild bases struck by natural disasters in the past two years, after lobbying Congress for billions of dollars to backfill its coffers depleted by recovery efforts. Congress allocated $5.3 billion for disaster relief through a patchwork of supplemental…