Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes the Pentagon can get the Air Force’s KC-X tanker program restarted “by early spring” and have responses to a new request for proposals “soon after the first of next year.” That’s what he told the...

An 8th Air Force inspection team descended upon Whiteman AFB, Mo., last week, bringing with it a weapons loading event dubbed Giant Sword II. “The event is a resurrection of the highly competitive [Strategic Air Command] bomb loading competition,” said...

In his opening remarks before the Senate Armed Services Committee Jan. 27, Defense Secretary Robert Gates promised to make hard choices on major weapons programs, prompting inevitable questions on certain big ticket programs. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), the Senate’s most...

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates hedged on maintaining the 2018 initial operational capability goal for a next generation bomber, saying the state of the economy has shed a different light on the NGB and other aspects of the nation’s strategic...

The Air Force has selected two F-16 pilots stationed at Luke AFB, Ariz., as members of its initial cadre of pilots to transition to the new F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Lt. Col. Stephen Pieper, 310th Fighter Squadron director of operations, will serve as an F-35 squadron commander, and Maj. Chad Lewis, 56th Operations Support Squadron assistant director of operations (weapons and tactics) will be one of the first JSF instructor pilots. The Air Force will select another eight pilots to serve as IPs along with Pieper and Lewis, who will learn to fly the F-35 from the test pilots in the new program and then, in turn, teach the next F-35 IPs. "This initial qualification training will take approximately two to three months," said Lewis, and added: "Once we're qualified, we'll be responsible for training the next pilot in line. The United States Air Force plans to buy more than 1,700 of these aircraft, so we have a lot of pilots to train. The service is drawing the initial cadre of JSF pilots from its A-10, F-15E, and F-16 communities. (Luke report by SrA. Tong Duong)

Air Force Security Forces airmen at Whiteman AFB, Mo., were the first to undergo a new training regimen that included working with Navy SEALs to learn new tactics from how to dress for varying weather conditions to close-quarter combat techniques....

The Air Force has named the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight of the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron at Dover AFB, Del, its top EOD flight for 2008. The Dover EOD specialists received the 2008 SMSgt. Gerald J. Stryzak Award for their...

The top enlisted airman, CMSAF Rodney McKinley, writes in a new “Enlisted Perspective” paper that the military training instructors of his basic training days taught him lessons that “helped mold me into the airman I am today.” The paper is...

Gen. William Fraser III, the Air Force vice chief of staff, presented the Bronze Star with Valor medal to A1C Antonio Antunez during a ceremony Jan. 26 at Nellis AFB, Nev. Antunez, who is with the 99th Security Forces Squadron...

The Air Force on Thursday planned to rectify a 65-year-old clerical error by presenting a Distinguished Flying Cross to former Army Air Forces first lieutenant Joseph Moser. The 87-year-old Moser was to receive his DFC during an awards ceremony at...

Jan. 27, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 29 16 45 1,012 CAS/Armed Recon 37 54 91 2,641 Airlift 135 135 3,442 Air refueling 41 41 1,238 Total 312 8,333 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...