On Thursday afternoon, when the full House passed the 2010 defense policy bill (HR 2647), it not only included more F-22s but also direction to the Air Force to report on how it plans to address the fighter gap, which...

Faced with the termination of the F-22 and deep cuts in existing fighter force structure, Congress has been pinging the Pentagon to provide the analysis that top defense leaders insist has been done to show the cuts are prudent. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters at the Pentagon Friday that the “analysis does exist.” However, he apparently hasn’t seen it. “I’m sure that analysis exists in the building [the Pentagon]—describing the relative benefits of more or less tactical airplanes in various scenarios.” He said he’s “not sure actually if we have any specific pending requests for … what analysis is there.” Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), in remarks appended to the House Armed Services Committee 2010 defense bill mark up, wrote: “We have repeatedly requested that the department provide the committee and members with analysis upon which this budget decision was based. That analysis has not yet been provided, leading to a strong indication that it is a budget drill, pure and simple. … I urge Secretary Gates and my colleagues to work cooperatively on an F-22 termination plan that is reasoned and based on real military requirements and analysis, not budget drills.”

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Friday he’s hopeful that Congress won’t ultimately fund more F-22s. “I’m not as downbeat as some would think about the results from the committee mark-ups,” which included additional F-22s (12 for the House side...

In addition to overruling the Pentagon on the F-22 Raptor, the Senate Armed Services Committee, like its House counterpart, is backing the F136 alternate engine—once again. The Senate defense authorizers put $438.9 million in their version of the 2010 defense...

The leaders of the National Guard Caucus, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) have reintroduced legislation, call it National Guard Empowerment III, to continue their push to further the role of the Guard in defense policymaking. Among...

Air Force and Northrop Grumman officials officially unveiled the Block 40 RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle at the company’s Palmdale, Calif., facility June 25. It is the first of 15 aircraft in the latest iteration of the high-flying reconnaissance...

On Friday, the Air Force released a list of force structure changes for Fiscal 2010 that Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said "reflects our best effort to meet the expanding Air Force mission areas and growing joint demands." He added that the decisions required "some hard choices." This list, the Air Force said, does not include several programmatic actions, including basing for the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft, which has concerned lawmakers with the Pentagon's reduction of the program from 78 to 38 airframes, and follow-on missions for units affected by the service's planned combat air force restructure—the early retirement of some 250 fighters. The narrative provided by USAF details the force structure changes by state for active and reserve components. (USAF release and accompanying narrative)

Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presented the Koren Kolligian Safety Trophy to Texas Air National Guard pilot Lt. Col. Booth Johnston for his outstanding airmanship during an October 2007 sortie in which he managed to safely land his F-16...

The Air Force has awarded the Bronze Star medal to Capt. Karen Rupp for her actions while deployed to Iraq as commander of the 424th Medium Truck Detachment. Rupp had deployed from Dover AFB, Del., but is now aerial port...

Air Education and Training Command hosted a three-day workshop earlier this month to put finishing touches on plans to provide installation support in San Antonio as two Air Force Bases—Lackland and Randolph—and one Army post—Ft. Sam Houston—form a joint basing...

June 24-25, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 52 39 91 7,201 CAS/Armed Recon 49 150 199 17,020 Airlift 290 290 24,021 Air refueling 109 109 7,964 Total 689 56,206 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...