The United States has committed to working with the European Union and other spacefaring nations in developing an international code of conduct to promote responsible behavior in space and reduce the potential for debris-generating events and orbital collisions. “The long-term...

The Air Force exercised a $377 million contract option with Boeing toward the production of WGS-9, the ninth Wideband Global Satellite Communications satellite, announced service officials on Wednesday. This news came one day after the United States unveiled the new long-term partnership for WGS services with Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. The five partner nations are contributing $620 million of the approximate $1 billion needed to procure WGS-9 and place it in orbit around 2018. There are already three WGS satellites operating on orbit. WGS-4 is scheduled for launch this week and the next four in the series are in various stages of production. Last month, Boeing received $296 million toward the production of WGS-8. Maj. Gen. John Hyten, director of space programs in USAF's acquisition shop, told reporters Tuesday that Congress provided $326 million in Fiscal 2012 for a 10th WGS satellite, although the Air Force did not specifically request that funding. (See also SAF/PA report by TSgt. Chris Powell and Boeing release.)

Afghan Shooter Acted Alone: The Air Force has concluded that the Afghan air force officer who shot eight USAF air advisors, along with one US contractor, to death in Kabul last April acted alone. While Air Force investigators “did not...

Gen. Mieczyslaw Cieniuch, Poland’s highest ranking military officer, made an official visit to the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport, inspecting the training and facilities used there to instruct Polish and other foreign pilots. “We’ve...

Air Frame: Year in Review, December 2011: The United States officially concluded its military mission in Iraq on Dec. 15 after nearly nine years of war. Three days later, the last US troops left Iraq. Also in December, the final F-22, shown here, rolled off Lockheed Martin's assembly line in Marietta, Ga., and Iranian state television showed off the stealthy US RQ-170 remotely piloted surveillance aircraft that went down in Iran. President Obama signed the bills into law authorizing and appropriating some $660 billion for national defense programs in Fiscal 2012. Also, the Air Force ordered its eighth WGS communications satellite. General Electric and Rolls Royce ceased self-funding their F136 engine for the F-35. The Civil Air Patrol turned 70 and the National Guard celebrated its 375th birthday. And, America marked the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. Lockheed Martin photo

Student pilots training at Altus AFB, Okla., will begin a year-long test of a new instrument landing system that Air Force officials are considering incorporating across the service. Initially tried at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., Altus will be the first training...

Air Mobility Command christened its first new KC-135 refueling boom trainer in a ceremony at McConnell AFB, Kan. Using the boom operator weapons system trainer, instructors can “recreate training actions for boom operators without spending money on fuel, maintenance, or...

After seven years of painstaking restoration, the world’s only airworthy EC-121T Warning Star took to the skies, lifting off on a ferry flight from Camarillo Airport northwest of Los Angeles to its new home, the Yanks Air Museum in Chino,...

The Homeland Security Department released a white paper assessing the potential privacy implications of a new Pentagon-DHS joint cybersecurity services pilot initiative that builds upon a previous cooperative pilot program introduced last year. The initial pilot shared classified information directly...