Air Force officials on Monday announced that the service will pursue two separate competitions—both full and open—to acquire a new personnel recovery helicopter and future utility helicopter. The new recovery chopper will replace the service’s aging and heavily utilized HH-60G...

The Defense Department on Monday notified the General Electric-Rolls Royce consortium developing the F136 engine that it has terminated the contract for the engine's development. The Pentagon leadership doesn't want the F-136, the competing engine for the F-35 strike fighter, asserting that it is "unneeded and wasteful." It wants to go forth solely with Pratt & Whitney's F135, but has faced Congressional resistance to killing the F136 over the past several years. In late March, however, the F-35 program office issued a stop-work order on the F136, pending completion of a defense appropriations bill for the rest of Fiscal 2011. Since that subsequent bill, H.R. 1473, contained no F136 funding, the path opened for contract termination. In a subsequent statement, the GE-Rolls team said it would "comply with the notice," which requires them to preserve and turn over government property. At the same time, the companies also said they "will work closely" with their Congressional supporters during the Fiscal 2012 budget process "in pursuit of incorporating the engine" back into the F-35 program and "preserving competition." (DOD release) (GE-Rolls Royce statement)

SSgt. John Hatzidakis, a pararescue instructor with the 342nd Training Squadron at Lackland AFB, Tex., has received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his heroic actions during the evacuation of a critically wounded British soldier near Lashkar Gah, west...

Six C-130 aircraft carrying special firefighting equipment continue to help battle wildfires in Texas and northern Mexico from the air, as of Monday, announced US Northern Command officials. Since the first of these aircraft arrived on the scene on April...

The Air Force’s first MC-130J Combat Shadow II aircraft completed its maiden flight, taking to the skies from Lockheed Martin’s aircraft plant in Marietta, Ga. The April 20 flight came less than one month after the aircraft rolled off the...

An expeditionary contingent of F-22s, pilots, and maintainers from JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, set a record for a Raptor unit deployed to Kadena AB, Japan, by completing 30 sorties in one day. “The fact that we could pull off such a...

The Air Force’s active duty component continues to meet its recruiting goal so far for Fiscal 2011, while the Air National Guard stands a tad shy of its goal and the Air Force Reserve comes in a bit ahead, according...

The 4th Manpower Requirements Squadron, which had been temporarily located at Buckley AFB, Colo., has moved into its new home at Peterson Air Force Base, home of the 21st Space Wing in Colorado Springs in the Centennial State. This marks...

Air Forces Central has awarded Northrop Grumman a $99 million contract for base security and support services at various installations in the command’s area of responsibility, which spans Egypt and Southwest and Central Asia. Northrop will provide various training, management,...