Photochart of USAF Leadership

F-35 Squadrons in Alaska Shift to Full Operations as ‘Advanced Threats’ Grow ‘More Lethal’

Aug. 10, 2022

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has two new squadrons of F-35s at its disposal in Alaska just as “quite a bit of action” has taken place in the combatant command’s area of responsibility and the “advanced threats” there are becoming “more lethal,” said the squadrons’ wing commander, Col. David J. Berkland. Berkland’s…

Air Force Set to Get Rid of Small A-29, AT-6 Fleets, Program Official Says

Aug. 10, 2022

Just over two years ago, the Air Force announced it was buying limited quantities of Textron’s AT-6s and Sierra Nevada Corp.’s A-29s. Now, the service is seemingly set to get rid of the aircraft, most likely in the form of a foreign military sale. Should such a sale occur, it…

Air Force Was ‘Hyper Focused’ on Cybersecurity for IT Networks. Now Other Systems Need Protection.

Aug. 10, 2022

Looking to address Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s operational imperatives, cyber leaders with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center recently analyzed their networks and systems to see how they would hold up against cyber threats. The leaders came away with a “sobering” observation: Key IT networks and data centers…

B-52 Will Get at Least One New Designation With Radar, Engine Upgrades

Aug. 10, 2022

The B-52H will be redesignated the B-52J or possibly B-52K when it gets a new radar and new engines, but the Air Force hasn’t yet decided what will constitute the new B-52 variant, according to Col. Louis Ruscetta, senior materiel leader for the program. The program has also developed a…

Biden Signs PACT Act to Expand VA Coverage for Toxic Exposure, but Some Are Left Out

Aug. 10, 2022

After years of wrangling in Congress and more than a dozen failed bills, President Joe Biden signed the largest expansion of Veterans Affairs health care in 30 years, adding more than 5 million eligible veterans but leaving some waiting up to 10 years for phase-in periods or without coverage for…

Richardson: TBG and HAWC Can Still ‘Inform’ Other Hypersonic Efforts

Aug. 10, 2022

The Tactical Boost Glide program and the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept still have value, even though the programs they support are either in source selection or flight testing, said Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, head of Air Force Materiel Command. The Air Force is pursuing the TBG and HAWC programs jointly…

Alaskan Command Girds for Threats

Aug. 9, 2022

Lt. Gen. David A. Krumm wears many hats as the commander of U.S. Northern Command's Alaskan Command, of 11th Air Force, and of North American Aerospace Defense Command's Alaskan Region. Krumm, who is set to retire, has served as the senior military leader in Alaska since April 2020. In a July interview, Krumm…

Biden Signs Ratification for Finland and Sweden to Join NATO

Aug. 9, 2022

The mood was festive in the packed East Room of the White House as President Joe Biden signed the instruments of ratification for the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO. The two High North nations had up until months ago remained unaligned and fiercely independent, Biden said, until Russia’s…

Langley Takes Over US Africa Command With Few Resources and Growing Threats

Aug. 9, 2022

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III swore in Marine Corps Gen. Michael E. Langley to lead U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany. Langley's swearing-in comes as governments such as China's and Russia's increase their influence in Africa and terrorist groups expand in Somalia and from the Sahel to the littoral…

Related Content