Daily Report

Combat air activities in Southwest Asia—especially Afghanistan—have grown at a breakneck pace over the past several years, said Lt. Gen. Mike Hostage, US Central Command’s top airman. Close air support sorties in Afghanistan went from 20,359 in 2008 to more...

Processes instituted by Air Forces Central under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Mike Hostage have improved the command and control of air assets in Southwest Asia—and have had a pronounced effect on operations in Afghanistan, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the...

Six rescue airmen from Moody AFB, Ga., last month received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for their extraordinary achievements during missions in Afghanistan. Gen. William Fraser, head of Air Combat Command, presented the medal to Maj. Charles McMullen, Capt....

The Air Force is considering hand-to-hand combat training for air advisors in response to the slaying of eight USAF air advisors and a civilian contractor in late April at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan. “I look at the recent deaths of...

The Air Force is expected to go to the Defense Acquisition Board this summer with a plan to buy as many as 500 new advanced T-X trainer aircraft to replace the T-38, according to service and industry officials. The service...

Air Force officials celebrated the opening of the new Warrior and Family Operations Center at Randolph AFB, Tex.The 7,000 square-foot, newly renovated facility sits next door to Air Force Personnel Center headquarters. It will house nearly 80 personnel who administer...

Boeing on Tuesday challenged Lockheed Martin’s recent comparison of F-35 strike fighter and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet prices. Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Airplanes, called a telecon with defense reporters to rebut last week’s Daily Report entry in which Lockheed’s...

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a “stealth” platform, asserts Chris Chadwick, Boeing Military Airplanes president. In a Tuesday telecon with reporters, Chadwick said the Air Force and Navy have a “different philosophy” about stealth. The Navy, he said, relies on...

The House version of the Fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill contains a provision that would permanently transfer administrative oversight of the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., from the Army to the Air Force. Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) introduced this provision as an amendment. Members adopted it by voice vote on May 26, the same day on which they passed the bill. The language gives the Air Force Secretary "jurisdiction, custody, and control" of the memorial and makes the Secretary responsible for its "operation, maintenance, and management." The Air Force is currently handling the memorial's operation and maintenance by way of an agreement signed with the Army in April 2007. Since this agreement was meant to be temporary in nature, the Franks measure is meant to permanently transfer administrative control to the Air Force. This would clarify the long-term status of the parcel of land on which the memorial sits as well as the responsibilities of various organizations involved in its operation and maintenance.

The Air Force awarded Cessna Aircraft a $88.5 million contract to provide 32 light lift aircraft to the Afghan air force under the Afghanistan Basic Trainer/Lift Family program. With this foreign military sale, Cessna will deliver six T-182Ts and 26...