Ward to AFRICOM:

Ward to AFRICOM:

July 11, 2007

President Bush has nominated Army Gen. William Ward to become the first commander of the new US Africa Command, which when initially operational in October will be a sub-unified command under US European Command. The Pentagon expects Ward, who currently serves as EUCOM deputy commander, to usher in AFRICOM as a separate unified command by Sept. 30, 2008. He has been instrumental in helping craft the new command’s agenda and operating structure, which will include a State Department official as one of its deputy commanders.

Missile Defense Agency Moves Out Quickly on ‘Iron Dome’

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The Missile Defense Agency is moving quickly to gather ideas for President Donald Trump’s proposed “Iron Dome for America” and hopes to make progress on some within the next two years.

‘Blind Spot’ in F-16 Engine Led to Its Failure and Fiery Crash Last Year

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A known “blind spot” in F-16 engines meant maintainers couldn’t see one turned vane inside an aircraft at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.—damage that resulted in engine failure and a crash that destroyed the $21 million fighter in April 2024,...

DARPA Eyes Protections for Common but Critical Computing System

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The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for “revolutionary” ways to protect from hackers that workhorse of modern computing, the data bus, a standardized component that allows different pieces of IT equipment—including those in aircraft and weapons systems—to communicate.

KC-46 Mission Capable Rates Slipped Further from Goal in 2024

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The KC-46A Pegasus aerial tanker still isn’t meeting required mission capable rates, mostly due to parts shortages, and other significant problems are still being remedied, the Pentagon’s test director said in a new report.

USAF Flies More Detained Migrants to Guantanamo in C-17

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A U.S. Air Force C-17 carrying detained migrants arrived at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Feb. 6, the second such flight to the U.S. military outpost this week, a defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine, part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Japan Puts New US Space Force Capability into Orbit

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A Japanese navigation satellite launched from one of Japan's southernmost islands earlier this week, carrying into space a U.S. Space Force space domain awareness payload.

Death at Robins Blamed on Faulty Construction, Prompting More Inspections

Feb. 6, 2025

The Air Force will launch a department-wide series of inspections of buildings across the Air Force and Space Force in the wake of an investigation into the death of a 14-year-old boy at Robins Air Force Base Ga., last summer.

US Military Working on Slate of Safety Fixes for V-22 Osprey

Feb. 6, 2025

The U.S. military’s V-22 Osprey fleet is set to receive a slate of improvements to increase safety as the fallout from a deadly crash of a U.S. Air Force Osprey off the coast of Japan in late 2023 continues to reverberate across the fleet. The primary focus of the confirmed…

F-15 EW Suite Declared ‘Effective,’ But Full Extent of Capabilities in Combat Less Clear

Feb. 5, 2025

The new F-15E and F-15EX electronic warfare suite, meant to protect the fourth-generation fighters in contested battlespace—was shown to be “operationally effective” and “suitable,” the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation said.

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