The Government Accountability Office intends to issue its ruling on US Aerospace’s KC-X tanker protest in early October, about one month sooner than it is required to act by law. According to GAO’s website, the decision on US Aerospace’s complaint...

The California Air National Guard’s 163rd Reconnaissance Wing at March ARB, Calif., has surpassed 50,000 total flying hours with MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft. The unit reached this milestone earlier this month, less than four years into its tenure of...

Air Force space officials and their industry partners have successfully completed the critical design review for the third and fourth Space Based Infrared Systems geosynchronous satellites. This means that the Air Force has approved the design of GEO-3/GEO-4 and that prime contractor Lockheed Martin may begin transitioning its work on these two satellites to production. "We are ready to start producing the next set of satellites," said Col Scott Larrimore, SBIRS Space Group commander at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. GEO-3 and GEO-4 will be "near clones" of the first two SBIRS satellites, GEO-1 and GEO-2, which are not yet on orbit. There will be minor changes, such as a different star tracker and components to replace now-obsolete parts in the GEO-1/GEO-2 design. The launch of GEO-3 is anticipated in late 2014. The CDR for the GEO-3/GEO-4 payloads took place last November. (Los Angeles release)

Increased pitch angle by the pilot while landing an E-4B aircraft at night on May 12 at Offutt AFB, Neb., caused the tail to strike the runway and incur damage, according to the results of Air Combat Command's accident investigation. The tail and the lower fuselage sustained about $3.1 million in damages. The pilots and crewmembers were not injured. The members of the accident investigation board identified several factors that contributed to the accident, including pilot misperception of operational conditions and procedural error. E-4B aircraft serve as airborne command and control platforms for the President and Pentagon leadership during national emergenices. (Langley release) (AIB executive summary)

Global Hawk Block 20 and Block 30 remotely piloted aircraft will undergo initial operational test and evaluation starting in October at two Air Force sites in California, USAF officials have announced. The six-week evaluation will include 17 sorties flown from...

Student pilot error caused the crash of an Air National Guard MQ-1B Predator remotely piloted aircraft during a training mission April 20 in southern California, Air Combat Command investigators have determined. The pilot's failure to recognize that the Predator's speed was too low during final approach caused a stall and subsequent hard landing of the aircraft at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, according to the findings of ACC's accident investigation board. Upon impact, the Predator left the prepared runway and subsequently broke apart, resulting in its total loss and the loss of the inert Hellfire training missile on its wing. Total damages are estimated at about $3.7 million. The Predator belonged to the ANG's 163rd Reconnaissance Wing at March Air Reserve Base. The student operator was from Cannon AFB, N.M., and was training under the Air Guardsmen's supervision. (ACC release) (AIB executive summary)

The Air Force’s enlisted heritage museum at Lackland AFB, Tex., has re-opened after a $730,000 building renovation that took more than nine months to complete. It also has also been renamed the USAF Airman Heritage Museum, replacing the old title,...

Twenty Senators have formed the bipartisan Senate Military Family Caucus to bolster their support of military families. “We recognize that when a service member puts on a uniform, the entire family sacrifices for our country,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)...

Salem, Mass., is now the birthplace of more than just witch trials. Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has signed into law HB1145, a bill that recognizes the town as the “birthplace of the National Guard.” “We are the nation’s first, the...

Both the Air Force Marathon’s full marathon and half marathon events on Sept. 18 are now sold out for the first time ever, race organizers have announced. But there are still open slots for the 5k race on Sept. 17...