While You’re Making Other Plans

By John A. Tirpak
Reacting to wars, sexual assaults, sequestration, and other unexpected crises have made it tough to make steady progress on the Air Force program, said Secretary Michael Donley, who is retiring today, in his last interview with Air Force Magazine. “There...

Total Force, In Perpetuity

By John A. Tirpak
The Total Force Task Force—comprised of two-star generals from the Active, Guard, and Reserve—will continue indefinitely, said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, who is retiring today. He and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh “think we’re on a good track...

Hagel emphasizes importance of nuclear deterrent

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel emphasized the need for the U.S. to retain a nuclear deterrent while also working to reduce its nuclear arsenal in a speech delivered at the University of Nebraska-Omaha on June 19. Hagel, a UNO alum and...

Focus on the F-35

By John A. Tirpak
The idea of buying more F-22s is a dead option, and the Air Force should stay focused on the F-35, outgoing Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said. “I think the F-22 issue, in terms of whether or not to continue...

Bomber Evolution

By John A. Tirpak
“Geography still matters” and there is “value to the President in having a long-range strike capability” in the form of a new bomber, outgoing Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said in his last interview with Air Force Magazine. The need...

The Tipping Point on F-35

By Marc V. Schanz
Senior Pentagon leaders told Senate appropriators on June 19 they are increasingly confident in the operational capability of the F-35 and are gaining a better understanding of future sustainment costs. During the hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel,...

Propelled with Confidence

By Michael C. Sirak
Le Bourget, France Pratt & Whitney is offering to accelerate the start of a performance-based logistics arrangement for sustainment of the F-35’s F135 engine by four years to 2015, said Bennett Croswell, president of the company’s military engines business. The...

Jamming Along

By Michael C. Sirak
Le Bourget, France Raytheon’s Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammer has completed operational testing, said Harry Schulte, vice president of the company’s air warfare systems. “Everything we saw looked really, really good, so we would expect the OT report to be...

Let Us Compete

By Michael C. Sirak
Le Bourget, France Indications coming out of the Office of the Secretary of Defense are that Lockheed Martin’s Long-Range Anti-Surface Missile is the heir apparent to be the US military’s next-generation air-launched anti-ship missile, said Harry Schulte, Raytheon’s vice president...