E-10A Moves Forward:

The Air Force and Northrop Grumman have successfully completed the critical platform design review of the E-10A multi-sensor command and control aircraft program, ensuring all platform design requirements have been identified and tested, says Northrop Grumman officials. The first Boeing...

Now, the Risen Sun:

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has released a draft version of a revised national constitution. The new document removes World War II-imposed restrictions that have kept Japanese forces in a purely self-defense role. Under the new guidance, they would officially be...

Compass Call Racking Up Hours:

The 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron has another notch in their belt, after recently surpassing 3,000 combat flight hours in their EC-130H Compass Calls as they supported Operation Enduring Freedom over the past 18 months. USAF officials note that, during...

Now If It Can Only Survive the Budget Axe:

While in Washington the Joint Strike Fighter appears to be on the Quadrennial Defense Review cutting-room floor, members of the JSF integrated test force at Edwards AFB, Calif., are working hard to develop a means for the F-35 to withstand...

Dominguez Steps Up:

Michael Dominguez served for several months as Acting Secretary of the Air Force, returning to his former job as USAF’s assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld picked Pete Geren to serve as temporary head...

Working in the “Swamp”:

An Air Force C-17 aircrew recently transported a well-drilling rig from the Republic of Djibouti to Gode, Ethiopia, in Africa under the auspices of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. (CJTF-Horn is a little-publicized element of Operation Enduring Freedom.)...

AFIT Honors Alumni:

The Air Force Institute of Technology has honored three distinguished alumni for their roles in science, engineering and education. They are: Anthony K. Hyder, retired Army Lt. Gen. Leo Pigaty, and retired USAF Col. Howard M. McCoy. Among Hyder’s accomplishments...

Joint STARS Gets a Lift:

The Air Force has awarded an “up-to” $532 million contract to Northrop Grumman to make improvements to the E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft. The work will include enhancements to communications, navigation, surveillance, air traffic management,...

Say Aaaah:

Air Reserve Personnel Center officials say they are ready to move forward with a plan initiated two years ago to move medical and dental records of individual mobilization augmentees (IMAs) from the center to the military treatment facility at the...

THAAD Testing Inches Forward:

The Missile Defense Agency has completed another step in the evolution of the Terminal (in case you missed it, the name was changed from Theater to Terminal) High Altitude Area Defense interceptor missile. A Nov. 22 test firing of the...

Opportunities, Challenges Open for Civilians:

As part of its Force Development movement, the Air Force has been expanding opportunities for its civilians to attend traditionally blue-suit-only training, such as professional military education courses. The goal, say officials, is to groom civilians for higher leadership positions,...

First IT Security Stand Down?:

The cat’s out of the bag—or maybe not—on what may be the first DOD-wide computer security stand down. According to a report in Federal Computer Week, US Strategic Command plans on Nov. 29 to have all of DOD—headquarters, services, major...

A New Find:

We recently ran across a program by the National Guard Bureau—not recruiting— that offers free—that’s right, we said free—“heritage prints” that illustrate historic moments from Guard history. There are quite a few Air Guard prints, some as recent as the...

Going to the Birds:

USAF units with flying operations in Britain face a continual threat from the indigenous bird population, say officials. There are as many as 40 different types of birds, with ever growing populations, that infest RAFs Fairford, Lakenheath, and Mildenhall, but...

Munitions 101:

RAF Lakenheath has decided it’s high time base personnel learn what F-15E munitions work is all about. The base launched a course this fall that provides an introduction to munitions daily operations for lay airmen—support, medical, senior leaders, and operations...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

November 22, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 3 – 13 CAS/Armed Recon 42 20 – 62 Airlift – – 165 165 Air refueling – – 36 36 Total 52 23 201 276 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...