Daily Report

May 24, 2010

Can You Hear Me Now?

Defense Secretary Bob Gates, after hearing that the House Armed Services Committee had included the F136 engine and tacked on caveats to F-35 strike fighter funding in its markup of the 2011 defense bill, repeated his veto threat. He told...

Rope-a-Dope Test

At a Pentagon press briefing Thursday, Defense Secretary Bob Gates would not commit to staying the course to see his “overhead cutting” plan cemented in the 2012 budget rather than having it “rope-a-doped” until he leaves, replying simply, “We’ll see.”...

GPS Launch Delayed

Update, GPS Launch Delayed Again: The Air Force had to postpone Sunday night’s launch of the Boeing-built GPS IIF satellite to provide mission managers additional time to validate the fix put in place after the postponement of Friday night’s launch....

One Shot This Year

According to a May 20 Boeing release, the planned May 25 test flight of the X-51A will be the only hypersonic flight attempt this year because of high-demand for test assets like the B-52 that will carry the vehicle aloft...

Sooner on That Chinese Fighter?

If a senior US foreign intelligence analyst is correct, China will have an F-22 rival operational by 2018, reports Reuters news service. That is at least two years and possibly seven years earlier than Defense Secretary Bob Gates predicted last...

CYBERCOM Gains Boss, IOC

Defense Secretary Bob Gates immediately appointed Army Gen. Keith Alexander to his new post as head of the new US Cyber Command following a May 21 ceremony at Ft. Meade, Md., for Alexander’s promotion to four stars. The Senate had...

USAF Taps Another Luke Pilot for F-35

The Air Force has selected Maj. Josh Wood, currently serving as the weapons chief for the 56th Operations Support Squadron at Luke AFB, Ariz., for its fledgling F-35 strike fighter force. He will join the F-35 team at Eglin AFB,...

Rocky Road

With the resignation last week of retired Adm. Dennis Blair from his post as director of national intelligence, speculation is mounting on his likely successor. An ABC news report said Pentagon intel chief retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper...

A Beacon for the Battle of Britain

The Royal Air Force Museum last week revealed its planned design for a new Battle of Britain Exhibition building in London, to include a 350-foot high “Beacon” structure of steel and glass “that will dominate the skyline and will be...

Air Sorties from SWA 051510

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, May 15, 2010 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 49 74 8,467 CAS/Armed Recon 20 73 93 12,588 Airlift 149 149 23,059 Air refueling 46 46 5,827 Rescue 20 20 2,120 Total...