Daily Report

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney said he would “add F-22s” to the Air Force’s inventory if he moves into the Oval Office. That was one of the defense-related moves he discussed during an interview with WAVY TV 10 of Virginia...

The Air Force awarded SrA. Bradley R. Smith, a joint terminal attack controller who died in combat in Afghanistan in 2010, a posthumous Silver Star medal—the military’s third highest decoration for valor—during a ceremony in Troy, Ill. Maj. Gen. Lawrence...

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Sept. 10 toured the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He laid a wreath in honor of the passengers and crew of Flight...

One of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2012, MSgt. Sandra L. Plentzas is a chapel operations superintendent with Air Force Reserve Command’s 944th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Ariz. Plentzas leveraged the Headquarters Chaplain Total...

Air Force evaluators began the final certification process for full-up F-35A training at Eglin AFB, Fla. A cadre of four pilots on Sept. 10 commenced the operational utility evaluation, which is dry run of every facet of Eglin’s F-35 training...

Raytheon has delivered about 40 Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammers to the Air Force since the beginning of September, Joe Staton, the company’s MALD growth manager, told the Daily Report. The MALD-J is the second variant of MALD, following the...

A combination of operator error and mechanical failure led to the loss of an MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft over Afghanistan on Feb. 14, according to Air Combat Command. The Predator experienced a dual alternator failure during its flight followed by the complete loss of electrical power, states ACC's Sept. 7 release, which cites the findings of the command's abbreviated accident investigation board report. Thereupon, the operator in the Predator's launch and recovery element "failed to adequately assess the nature of the emergency and fully execute proper procedures," states the release. This included not carrying out appropriate forced landing procedures. As a result, the MQ-1 crashed into a field northeast of the deployed airfield and was destroyed, a loss of an estimated $3.9 million, including property damage, according to the release. (AIB report; caution, large-sized file.)

Airmen from Ramstein AB, Germany, earlier this month tested the concept of using a civilian Gulfstream III jet to speed aeromedical evacuations from Africa. “Each takeoff and landing places stress on patients, and any delays in a flight could hinder...

Airmen and B-52 bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, N.D., competed in Air Force Global Strike Command’s Global Strike Challenge despite being deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam. One of the Minot B-52s dropped several practice bombs on...