AEHF Reaches Initial Operational Capability

Air Force Space Command boss Gen. John Hyten declared initial operational capability for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency joint communication system on July 28, the service announced. AEHF satellites—the first of which launched in August 2010—provide 10 times more capability...

Back In The Air

By John A. Tirpak
Boeing’s 767-2C provisioned freighter—one of its four planned KC-46 aerial tanker test aircraft—was back in the air on July 29, a company spokesman said Thursday. The aircraft is starting “the next phase of airworthiness testing,” to include expansion of the...

Piecing Together Unseen Tragedy

By Arie Church
The F-16 pilot involved in a fatal midair collision with a Cessna 150 on July 7? was actively looking for and maneuvering to avoid the civilian aircraft before impact, according to civil investigators. Air traffic control at JB Charleston, S.C....

Cox Tapped for 18th Air Force

President Barack Obama nominated Lt. Gen. Samuel Cox for assignment as commander of 18th Air Force at Scott AFB, Ill. Cox has served as deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services since December 2013. Obama also nominated Maj....

Great Day to Fly Unannounced

NATO alert fighters intercepted 10 Russian military aircraft during a single scramble sortie from Ämari AB, Estonia, last week, the Royal Air Force announced. The RAF Eurofighter Typhoons intercepted and identified several groups of aircraft, including four Sukhoi Su-34 strike...

Cesium Secure

An Air Force C-17 Globemaster III recently recovered three large, radioactive vessels from Mexico as part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s radiological security program, NNSA announced. “This work is a reflection of our shared threat reduction and nuclear security...

GPS Operators

The Space and Missile Systems Center’s GPS directorate handed off control of the tenth GPS IIF satellite to the 19th Space Operations Squadron and the 2nd SOPS on July 24. The 19th SOPS “has lead responsibilities for launch and checkout...