Airmen from the 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., have emplaced the final Minuteman III ICBM upgraded with new propellant and internal components in its silo. “We’re relieved it’s done,” said SSgt. Matthew Truitt, 341st MMXS missile handling...

CMSAF James Roy said developing senior leaders in the 2W2 nuclear weapons career field is a “critical” step to strengthening the Air Force’s nuclear enterprise. As a result, the service has made this career track the focus of its first-ever...

The 27th Fighter Squadron at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., has won the 2010 Raytheon Trophy, recognized as USAF’s most outstanding air superiority squadron last fiscal year. The unit, known as the “Fightin’ Eagles,” flies the F-22; it’s the first F-22 squadron...

The Defense Department on Monday ended all voluntary authorized departures from Japan. They had been in place following the powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated that country on March 11, enabling thousands of family members of US military personnel...

The Defense Department is getting better at writing performance-based contracts, but it is still reviewing improvements to guidelines to reward cost reduction and innovation, said Ash Carter, Pentagon acquisition czar. DOD already is "giving greater consideration" to fixed-price incentive firm contracts that use a "50-50 [government-contractor] share line and 120-percent ceiling as a point of departure," Carter told members of the House Appropriations Committee's defense panel last week. The Pentagon also is planning to launch a defense-wide Superior Supplier Incentive Program, which Carter said is "like a frequent flyer program or a gold star program to reward contractors who consistently control their cost and demonstrate exemplary performance." He also said during his April 13 testimony DOD needs to quash the mindset that "directed buys from two designated suppliers represents real competition." That non-optimal set-up is what Defense Secretary Robert Gates calls "Washington competition," noted Carter. (Carter's written testimony)

The Pentagon launched the Safe Helpline, a free, anonymous, and confidential resource to support victims of sexual assault. “The underreporting of sexual assault poses a serious challenge to military readiness,” said Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness....

A U-2 pilot achieved 100 combat sorties in the Dragon Lady earlier this month during a mission in Southwest Asia. Identified only by his call sign “Spock,” for security reasons, this major joined an elite handful of pilots to reach...

NASA’s ER-2 research aircraft is taking up temporary residence at Offutt AFB, Neb., as part of a NASA project to improve the predictive capability of meteorological satellites. A group of roughly 20 scientists, technicians, and crews is set to arrive...

Japan’s defense ministry has formally launched the F-X advanced fighter competition by issuing the request for proposal and inviting three industry teams to bid. FlightGlobal reports that Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II platforms are likely...

Lockheed Martin recently delivered the first Sniper sensor pods ordered by the South Korean air force for its fleet of F-15K fighters. They arrived at Daegu Air Base, home to F-15Ks. The pods, which identify targets at long ranges and...