Daily Report

The House has adopted a provision for the Fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill that would require the Defense Department to factor “any unfair competitive advantage an offeror may possess” in the Air Force’s KC-X tanker competition. This would compel Pentagon...

Reacting to the House’s May 27 vote making World Trade Organization rulings a factor in the Air Force’s KC-X tanker competition, EADS North America reiterated its stance that the Pentagon “should be allowed to run the fair and open competition”...

The House has approved its version of the Fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill. The legislation, said Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, “makes record investments in our nation’s military, authorizing a $726 billion budget to...

The online version of the Daily Report Friday covered the successful launch of the newest GPS satellite, Boeing’s Block IIF from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., at 11 p.m. EDT May 27 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch...

The Pentagon remains defiant with Congress over the fate of the F136 engine program after the House last week voted to keep the program alive in Fiscal 2011 despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates' continued objections. "We don't want nor need the extra engine, but this is just one step in a long journey and Secretary Gates is committed to staying engaged in this process the whole way," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said after the House's May 27 vote (see below On to Conference for F136). Morrell said Gates would still recommend a Presidential veto if the final version of the defense policy bill contains F136 funding. The White House's May 27 statement of Administration policy reiterated that point, as well. (See Washington Post report, DOD Buzz report) (See also GE statement, Pratt & Whitney statement)

As we reported in Friday’s Daily Report Online, the full House voted to keep $485 million in funding for the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine, as lawmakers late Thursday defeated by 231 to 193 an amendment that would have stripped...

Among the highlights of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s changes to the Fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill are a $102.5 million plus-up to continue E-8C Joint STARS re-engining and the inclusion of $337 million to fully fund the Air Force’s...

F-22s from the 7th Fighter Squadron at Holloman AFB, N.M., arrived in late May at Kadena AB, Japan, for a four-month deployment. This tour, which is part of a normal rotation of US combat forces in the Pacific region, marks...

Lt. Col. Robert Sandford, an F-22 pilot with Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va., on May 17 surpassed 4,000 total flight hours in his career. He is currently chief of standardization and evaluation for the...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, May 20, 2010 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 24 51 75 8,821 CAS/Armed Recon 24 91 115 13,091 Airlift 166 166 23,910 Air refueling 52 52 6,083 Rescue 42 42 2,311 Total...