Another USAF Acquisition Snafu?:

The combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program is shaping up into yet another pitched battle for a hunkered down Air Force. Still recovering from having much of its acquisition authority stripped over the aborted Boeing tanker lease deal and...

Finally, a C-5A Reprieve, of Sorts:

The House Armed Services Air and Land Forces Subcommittee markup for the 2008 defense authorization bill recommends allowing the Air Force to retire C-5As. However, the panel has stipulated that the service maintain a fleet of 299 strategic airlifters, so...

The Other Engine is Back:

Once again, lawmakers are poised to slap down the Pentagon’s attempt to kill the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine program. The House Armed Services Committee air-land panel has recommended cutting one aircraft and reducing the Air Force and Navy...

First Study Surfaces on Eglin Test Moves:

Lawmakers have received the Rand analysis of the planned consolidation and shift of test assets from Eglin AFB, Fla., to Edwards AFB, Calif., and the savings picture is not as rosy as painted by Air Force Materiel Command, reports the...

Pavement for the “Government Footprint”:

Airmen have been returning from their first rotations as leaders of six Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan, and one of them, Capt. Rockie Wilson, shared his experiences with reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. Wilson, who is Air Combat Command’s RED...

A First UAV Wing:

Creech Air Force Base in Nevada is now home to USAF’s first unmanned aerial vehicle wing—the reactivated 432nd Wing. The new wing’s first commander, Col. Christopher Chambliss, called the event a “monumental day for the Air Force,” adding that it’s...

Slight Boost in Personnel:

The Air Force could get an additional 963 military personnel above the end strength of 329,563 proposed in the President’s 2008 budget request. This increase bears no relation to the planned growth of ground forces by 92,000 over the next...

No Tricare Fee Hikes:

If the military personnel panel of the House Armed Services Committee has its way with the 2008 defense authorization bill, Congress, once again, would bar the Pentagon from raising Tricare enrollment fees. Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.), panel chair, noted that...

Five WWII Airmen Identified:

Pentagon analysts have identified the remains of five airmen missing in action from World War II, according to a May 2 release. They are: 1st Lt. Cecil W. Biggs, Teague, Tex.; 1st Lt. William L. Pearce, San Antonio; 2nd Lt....

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

May 1, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 16 9 25 CAS/Armed Recon 52 44 96 Airlift 160 160 Air refueling 43 43 Total 68 53 203 324 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...