Daily Report

June 29, 2011

F-16 Crashes at Nellis

: An F-16C crashed Tuesday at Nellis AFB, Nev., about 20 miles west of the town of Caliente. The aircraft was participating in an air-to-air combat training mission, said Nellis officials. They said the pilot’s condition is unknown. The airplane...

Over the Top

A KC-135 tanker deployed directly from Fairchild AFB, Wash., to the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, via a route that took it over the Arctic Circle and the North Pole. The flight was “first time an Air Force air refueling...

Two Lakenheath Airmen Awarded DFC

Capt. John Frederick and TSgt. Patrick Ledbetter, both assigned to the 56th Rescue Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, received the Distinguished Flying Cross for their heroic actions in Afghanistan. On May 4, 2010, Frederick, an HH-60 Pave Hawk pilot, successfully...

Temporary Home

F-15s assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England, will temporarily operate out of nearby RAF Mildenhall while runway repairs are completed at Lakenheath. The base’s HH-60G Pave Hawks will continue to fly missions from Lakenheath and will...

Rescue Training in the Djibouti Desert

Pararescuemen of the 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron boarded a Marine Corps MH-53, along with an Army site security team, for a simulated joint rescue mission in Djibouti’s Grand Bara desert. Deployed to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, rescuers from all three services...

New High-Tech Fire Trucks

The Air Force intends to buy at least 207 P-34 Rapid Intervention Vehicles, new 500-gallon fire trucks expected to enter production in late September. “This will be the first firefighting vehicle in the US Air Force to use new ultra-high-pressure...

No Let-up in Solid Recruiting Numbers

The Defense Department continues to attract new recruits to its ranks to the extent that it is meeting and, in some cases, exceeding its accession goals thus far in Fiscal 2011. Above all, the Army enjoys a wave of strong...

Morocco’s First Viper Riders

Morocco’s first four F-16 pilots will soon complete 15 months of qualification training with the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport. Forming the basis of their country’s future F-16 force, the quartet is due to...

Boeing Announces Major KC-46A Suppliers

Boeing has released the list of its major suppliers for the KC-46A tankers that it will supply to the Air Force to replace the service’s oldest KC-135s. “We’re fortunate to have a strong defense industry team of domain experts,” said...

F-35 Sensors Put Through Rigors at Northern Edge

Officials tested the F-35 strike fighter’s sensor capabilities during US Pacific Command’s biennial Northern Edge exercise. Northrop Grumman’s BAC 1-11 test aircraft carried the F-35’s AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar and its AN/AAQ-37 distributed aperture system during the exercise,...

Plucky Pony

Airmen with the 27th Fighter Squadron at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., painted one of the unit’s F-22s with the nose art of the squadron’s highest scoring ace of World War II, Maj. Thomas E. Maloney. They rekindled a unit tradition in...