The International Security Assistance Force reports that a US Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed late last night in southern Afghanistan, killing three service members and one civilian employee and injuring numerous other service members. Cause of the crash is unknown,...

President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Prague, Czech Republic, a document that they said ushers in a new era of bilateral cooperation and promotes global stability. “Today is an...

Operations at the US Transit Center at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, were delayed due to the violent outbreak of political instability in the Central Asian nation, but these developments had not yet seriously affected the supply mission to US forces in...

A bipartisan group of five Senators on Wednesday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, urging him not to extend the deadline for KC-X tanker bids by 60 days in order to allow EADS, parent of European aircraft maker Airbus, additional time to prepare a proposal and challenge Boeing for the tanker contract. "Our warfighters deserve new tankers delivered as expeditiously as possible, and we see no valid reason to postpone the tanker acquisition process any longer," wrote Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). They are upset that Airbus has received "illegal" subsidies for years based on the World Trade Organization's March 24 ruling, including for the A330, the aircraft upon which EADS would base its tanker offering. EADS is still mulling whether to bid. (Senators' letter)

The US aims to remain the world’s sole superpower, despite verbiage from President Obama and top defense officials suggesting a move toward simple parity with other countries. “It remains the Secretary of Defense’s clear and unambiguous policy view that the...

Jobs. That word has resurfaced in the Air Force’s KC-X tanker contest with Wednesday’s announcement by Boeing. The company stated at its United States Tanker Web site that it would rely on 14 parts suppliers in Florida if the Air...

BF-4, the first F-35 strike fighter test aircraft carrying all of the sensors that combat-ready F-35s will host, made its maiden flight on Wednesday, Lockheed Martin announced. Eric Branyan, Lockheed’s F-35 deputy program manager, said the 55-minute flight from the...

This year's joint expeditionary force experiment (JEFX 10-3) that kicks off April 12 at the Nevada Test and Training Range on Nellis AFB, Nev., will focus on validating innovations to plug existing capability gaps in prosecuting irregular warfare. Airmen and their participating Army and Navy brethren at Nellis and distributed sites across the continental US will evaluate 13 different initiatives during the 12-days of activities. Among them are remotely piloted aircraft that protect moving ground convoys, technology to prevent terrorists from downloading RPA video feeds, a new means of bringing together blue force tracking with Link 16, and novel airborne networks. JEFX is a Chief of Staff-directed event that combines live, virtual, and constructive forces to assess the viability of experimental initiatives. (Langley release) (For more, see the Air Force's JEFX Web page.)

Robert Giles, a B-17 navigator who saved a crewmate’s life as their shot-up B-17 was going down over Berlin, Germany, in April 1944, received the Air Medal for his actions—at long last—during a ceremony Tuesday at Kirtland AFB, N.M. The...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, April 5, 2010 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 41 66 5,745 CAS/Armed Recon 18 81 99 8,652 Airlift 198 198 15,908 Air refueling 45 45 3,987 Rescue 29 29 886 Total...