Daily Report

Air Force Chief of Staff nominee Gen. Mark Welsh told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that the Air Force needs to do a better job of connecting with Congress. “I think there is a trust problem the...

The Air National Guard’s fleet of C-27J transports remains grounded a little more than one week after Aeronautical Systems Center officials at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, suspended flight operations following a flight control problem with one of these airplanes during a...

Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens told members of the House Armed Services Committee on July 18 that the defense industry is "hungry" for more information about the looming budget sequestration so it can "act more responsibly" while informing employees about potential layoffs. Federal law mandates companies must give at least 60 days notice to employees of a potential layoff; however, because the sequestration remains so vague, it's likely significantly more notices will go out than necessary, potentially leading to a mass exodus of talent and skill from the industry, he said. "From an industry perspective, our near-term horizon is completely obscured by a fog of uncertainty," said Stevens. He added, "With just 167 days remaining until it takes effect, we have little insight as to how sequestration will be implemented and no insight into which programs will be curtailed, which sites will be closed, which technologies will be discontinued, which contracts will be reformed, and which suppliers, particularly small businesses who are so vital to our supply chain, will be shut down or severely crippled." (Stevens' prepared testimony)

Republicans and Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee butted heads on July 18, with each side blaming the other for the looming budget sequestration. “In addition to the issue of jobs, I worry that the cavernous silence from the...

The Air Force’s small fleet of Battlefield Airborne Communications Node-equipped E-11A jets flew its 3,000th sortie from Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in direct support of coalition forces in that nation. “It’s a great honor and feeling of satisfaction knowing our missions...

US strategy must specifically address China’s rising military power as a key part of its more general shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific region, said British defense minister Phillip Hammond on July 18 in Washington, D.C. “The rising strategic importance...

In 2013 alone, the nation stands to lose 2.14 million jobs, $215 billion in gross domestic product, and $109.4 billion in the personal earnings of the American workforce if the Budget Control Act’s sequester takes effect in January, according to...

Photos of what appears to be a new Chinese fighter design, shown heavily shrouded and purportedly en route to a stress-testing facility somewhere in China, appeared on the Internet starting in late June, reported the Washington Free Beacon. Some analysts...

Security forces airmen and their Navy counterparts integrated their operations at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, consolidating force protection at the installation, announced camp officials on July 18. Lemonnier is home to the US military’s Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. “We have...