Later today, the Air Force will release its highly anticipated nuclear roadmap that plots the steps to restore full confidence and credibility in its nuclear stewardship and to renew emphasis on its nuclear mission after several high-profile missteps. The forthcoming...

The Air Force earlier this week issued the request for proposal for the source familiarization phase of the C-130 avionics modernization program, the major initiative underway to upgrade the cockpits of 221 H-model C-130 transports. Source familiarization will occur during...

Air Force and state of Florida representatives held a ceremony Wednesday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to mark the transfer of space launch complex 36 to the state for commercial satellite launches. According to an Air Force release, Florida...

Lockheed Martin and Air Force officials confirmed Wednesday that an extended-range variant of the joint air-to-surface standoff missile performed well in a recent flight test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. A B-1B bomber launched the JASSM-ER during the Sept....

AA-1, the first F-35A test aircraft, has concluded three weeks of productive flight testing at Edwards AFB, Calif., and is returning home to Lockheed Martin’s plant in Fort Worth, Tex., the company announced yesterday. AA-1 arrived Oct. 1 at Edwards from Fort Worth, marking its first visit to the California test site. While there, flight activities focused on a set of tests to validate the aircraft’s ability to shut down and restart its engine in flight. These were successful, the company said. “The initial data review and pilot-reported results are very favorable and meet or exceed our expectations,” explained Doug Pearson, Lockheed Martin vice president of the F-35 integrated test force. With these tests under its belt, the F-35 program is gearing to expand the test envelope in future flights at Edwards and NAS Patuxent River, Md., the company said. AA-1 has now completed 63 flights, Lockheed said. BF-1, the first F-35B short-takeoff test aircraft, began flying in June. By the end of 2009, all 19 F-35 test aircraft are expected to be flying, the company noted.

A C-130 flight crew from the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Wing last month applied their collective experience of more than 13,000 hours in flight to avert an in-air catastrophe. “Props 76,” a 1963-vintage C-130E, had taken off Sept....

Quick thinking—and action—last month by four airmen with the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, saved about $52 million worth of aircraft parts from being damaged or destroyed in an electrical fire. SSgt. Akeilee Murchison, SrA....

The Air Force’s program to install new engines on its fleet of E-8C Joint STARS ground surveillance aircraft took another step forward with the completion last week of FAA certification flight testing, lead contractor Northrop Grumman announced Oct. 22. Next...

Boeing announced yesterday that it successfully tested a fuze for high-speed penetrator warheads in addition to a fuze well (i.e., area where fuze is installed) in July at Holloman AFB, N.M. During the test, these components were fitted in a...

Oct. 22, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 24 15 39 10,757 CAS/Armed Recon 40 66 106 30,367 Airlift 130 130 38,329 Air refueling 27 27 14,984 Total 332 94,437 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...