November 23, 2015 - Air Force Magazine

One American Killed, Six Rescued from Mali Hotel Siege

One American was killed and at least six were rescued after gunmen raided a Radisson Blu hotel in the capital city of Bamako, Mali, on Friday, taking more than 100 people hostage. Anita Datar, an American public health worker and...

ISIS in Libya

By Amy McCullough

Nigeria-based Boko Haram has surpassed ISIS as “the most deadly terrorist group in the world,” according to a recent report from the Institute for Economics and Peace. A total of 6,644 deaths were attributed to Boko Haram in 2014—a 317?...

Mangled MUTT

By Arie Church

The first of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s two X-56A remotely piloted testbed aircraft crashed during a test flight at Edwards AFB, Calif., base officials stated in a release. The Lockheed-Martin built Multi-Utility Technology Testbed (MUTT) aircraft, built to explore...

Busiest Week in Fight Against ISIS

By Brian W. Everstine

The seven-day period ending Nov. 17 marked the busiest week of Operation Inherent Resolve, with more bombs dropped in that span than in any other since the campaign kicked off last year, according to US Central Command. Coalition aircraft, mostly...

Investigation Finds Civilian Casualties in Airstrike

By Brian W. Everstine

A US Central Command investigation determined an Air Force jet likely killed four civilians during a March airstrike on an ISIS checkpoint in Iraq. A redacted “15-6” investigation, released Nov. 20, states that an A-10 was tasked with striking an...

Making an Exception for Defense

By Jennifer Hlad

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill that would exempt the Department of Defense and other national security agencies from sequestration. “Again and again, national security requirements have materialized after the Budget Control Act was passed, but we have forced...

Tinker-Tailored Mercury Magic

By Arie Church

Technicians at Tinker AFB, Okla., recently reconditioned the 12th E-6 Mercury nuclear command and control aircraft, returning it to the Navy in less than half the time it took to deliver the first. “That is very important to our Navy...

Japan Cleared for Global Hawk Buy

By Arie Church

The State Department approved Japan’s request to purchase three RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft, notifying Congress of a potential foreign military sale Nov. 20, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced. “The proposed sale of the RQ-4 will significantly enhance...

Man Plus Machine

By Jennifer Hlad

The Air Force is working to find the right balance of humans and machines to meet future operational challenges, the service’s top scientist told a House Armed Services subcommittee on Nov. 19. “The goal is to have human autonomy teams...