Stealthy Son of A-10?

By John A. Tirpak
The Air Force will consider developing a new dedicated close air support platform capable of operating in contested airspace; a follow-on to the A-10, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Thursday. Speaking with reporters at AFA’s Air Warfare...

F-35A Will Make IOC

By Arie Church and John A. Tirpak
The Air Force will make its F-35A Lightning II initial operating capability deadline in 2016 but not without some maintenance and manpower gymnastics, Gen. Hawk Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command, said. “It’s a tremendous challenge … there’s a couple...

Debutant, to Combat Workhorse

By Arie Church
F-22 Raptors have flown in the majority of Operation Inherent Resolve strike missions in Syria, due to their force-multiplying effect on the capability of legacy aircraft, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle said. “When you have F-22s in a...

Senate Confirms Carter

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Ashton Carter to be the next Secretary of Defense with a 93-5 vote. Republican Sens. Roy Blunt (Mo.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and John Boozman (R-Ark.) voted against Carter, reported...

A Match Made in Heaven

By Amy Hudson
Although US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa did not specifically request A-10s for Europe’s first theater security package, USAFE-AFAFRICA boss Gen. Frank Gorenc said it’s actually “a match made in heaven.” Now that combat operations have ended in Afghanistan,...

Reassuring Europe

By Amy Hudson
The Air Force will get “roughly” $300 million of the nearly $1 billion set aside in the Fiscal 2016 budget for the European Reassurance Initiative, US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Commander Gen. Frank Gorenc told Air Force Magazine...

Airpower is Making Difference in ISIS Fight

By Marc V. Schanz
Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle pushed back on some critiques of the military campaign against ISIS, saying he has “frustration” with those who claim airpower isn’t working because by all metrics the opposite is occurring. “In fact, airpower...

Making the Tough Calls Early

By Marc V. Schanz
Several senior leaders across the combat air force expressed skepticism that Budget Control Act funding levels will be permanently reversed in the coming year, noting the Air Force already is working to minimize disruption to training and readiness. Speaking at...

Carlisle To Host CAS Summit Next Month

By Marc V. Schanz
Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle will convene a week-long summit of the services in March to discuss the future of the close air support mission, he told reporters during a Feb. 12 roundtable at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium...

The X-37B and the Satellite Throwaway Paradigm

By Michael C. Sirak
The X-37B reusable spaceplane has “great utility” and the Air Force intends to keep using it “for a while” because it is helping service officials understand the “re-usability aspect of space” for satellites, said Gen. John Hyten, Air Force Space...

Not Just the Air Force

By Michael C. Sirak
The debate about the future Long-Range Strike Bomber should not rest solely on “how the Air Force is going to pay for the bomber,” said retired Col. Mark Gunzinger, senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in...

Manned, Unmanned on the Merits

By Michael C. Sirak
Trying to avoid risk to aircrews is not, in and of itself, sufficient justification for removing pilots from the cockpit of the future Long-Range Strike Bomber, said retired Lt. Gen. Christopher Miller, former deputy chief of staff for strategic plans...

More Than Ready

By Michael C. Sirak
The aerospace defense industry is “more than ready” to develop the Long-Range Strike Bomber and it’s “time to move forward,” said Rebecca Grant, president of IRIS Independent Research, on Thursday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. The Obama Administration...

Don’t Forget the Maritime Role

By Michael C. Sirak
Among the attributes of the Air Force’s future Long-Range Strike Bomber will be its ability to reach out and operate in contested maritime environments, retired Lt. Gen. Bob Elder, former 8th Air Force commander, told AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in...

B-52 Denuclearization Set to Begin

By Arie Church
Air Force Global Strike Command will begin denuclearizing 30 B-52H bombers to conventional-only configuration within the next nine months to meet limits under the New START agreement. “We’ll be starting that process and it’s basically going to be a box...

Return to Single-Track UPT?

By John A. Tirpak
Air Education and Training Command is considering a return to single-track undergraduate pilot training as part of its pursuit of the T-X trainer, AETC chief Gen. Robin Rand said Thursday. Speaking with reporters at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando,...

Next Fighter Plan

By John A. Tirpak
The Air Force is deliberately waiting to launch a next-generation fighter program, until it considers all the ways that air superiority will be achieved in 20 years, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Thursday. The “capabilities of some...

Special Ops at Spangdahlem?

By Arie Church
Air Force Special Operations Command’s 352nd Special Operations Group will likely move to Spangdahlem AB, Germany, with the planned closure of RAF Mildenhall, Britain, according to AFSOC boss Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold. “[US] European Command will ultimately decide, but the...

Creating the Ultimate Nighttime CAS Platform

By Michael C. Sirak
Air Force Special Operations Command is adding a 105 mm gun to its new AC-130J gunship to give the aircraft more firepower, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, AFSOC commander, told reporters on Thursday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla....

Boneyard BUFF Heads Back to Service

By Arie Church
A B-52H bomber resurrected from the boneyard is slated for delivery to Barksdale AFB, La., this week in preparation to rejoin the operational fleet, Air Force Global Strike Command boss Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson said on Thursday. Serial number 61-0007...

Fix the Juicy Target

By Arie Church
The reemergence of credible near-peer threats means command and control must become more decentralized and survivable than today’s air operations centers, according to panelists at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla. “The C2 systems that we use to implement...

Counting the Cost

By Autumn A. Arnett
CMSAF James Cody said he worries about the cost airmen are paying to achieve the mission set before them. “What I worry about every night is that email that is going to come in at 1:00 in the morning, that...