Daily Report

The Air Force and Lockheed Martin are getting closer to agreeing on what F-35 per-flying-hour costs will be, said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. The service and the company have used different metrics for the flying hour cost in...

The Air Force may have to take a sizable bite out of flying hours in the months to come, due to budget cuts and funding uncertainties, but these actions may not affect F-35 pilots as much as others, said Secretary...

Retaining an Air National Guard flying mission in each state was the key deciding factor in allocating cuts across the Total Force A-10 fleet in Fiscal 2013, said Col. Michael Norton, ANG programs chief in the Pentagon. In this fiscal...

The National Governors Association leadership urged President Obama to include "senior National Guard leaders" on the independent National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force. "It is imperative that National Guard officials be included on the commission to further discuss and resolve long-term strategic issues," states the Jan. 7 NGA letter, which is signed by Gov. Jack Markell (D-Del.), NGA chair, and Gov. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.), NGA co-chair, along with Gov. Terry Branstad (R-Iowa), Council of Governors chair, and Gov. Christine Gregiore (D-Wash.), COG co-chair. Congress established the eight-member commission in this fiscal year's defense authorization act to determine what the proper make-up of the Air Force should be. Congress made this move after governors, through the COG, resisted the Air Force's proposed Fiscal 2013 force structure plan since they felt it made unfair, disproportionate cuts to the Air National Guard. The defense act, which Obama signed into law on Jan. 2, stipulates that the President shall choose four of the commissioners, while senior congressional defense overseers select the remaining four members. The commission will make its recommendations to the President and Congress by February 2014.

US and French defense officials are discussing the details of the airlift, intelligence, and logistics assistance that the United States will provide to French forces in Mali who are fighting al Qaeda-aligned Islamist militias, said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on...

Air Force personnel officials announced that they plan to impress senior non-commissioned officers into service as military training instructors to fill a critical cadre shortage at basic training at JBSA-Lackland, Tex. “Basic military training is the cornerstone of the Air...

US and Russian officials continue to hash out the details of a B-52/Tu-95 bomber exchange, Air Force Global Strike Command spokeswoman Capt. Karen Mock told the Daily Report. “Further discussions are presently underway to solidify the details for the execution...

President Obama confirmed the involvement of US forces on Jan. 11 in the French military's failed rescue of a French citizen held hostage in Somalia by the al Shabaab terrorist organization. "I directed US forces to support this rescue operation in furtherance of US national security interests," wrote Obama in a notification letter to Congressional leadership on Jan. 13, citing his Constitutional authority to order such action. He said US forces "provided limited technical support" to the French forces, but "took no direct part" in the assault on the compound where the French military thought al Shabaab was holding the French citizen. US combat aircraft "briefly entered Somali airspace to support the rescue operation, if needed," stated Obama. They "did not employ weapons" during it, he noted. In the past, US military forces have provided logistical, airlift, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support to allies conducting operations in Africa, such as during NATO's 2011 Libya intervention, where alliance members leaned heavily on Air Force assets for aerial refueling and ISR capability.

The two-month delay to the start of budget sequestration sets up the situation where the United States—and the Pentagon—could face three major budget issues in March, said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for...

The Indian air force picked Airbus Military’s A330 tanker as its preferred option to fulfill its requirement for six modernized tanker aircraft, announced the company. “This has been a long and tough competition and we are honored to have been...