Daily Report

Former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne says last week’s decisions by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to cap F-22 production at 187 aircraft and to restructure major programs across the US military mark a dangerous “strategic drawdown” of US forces. In...

Sue Payton formally stepped down from her post as the Air Force’s top weapons buyer on April 8 after more than two-and-a-half years in the post. Air Force spokeswoman Karen Platt told the Daily Report yesterday that, at Payton’s request, there was no statement issued on her departure or any other fanfare. David Van Buren, who had been serving since last year as Payton’s principal deputy, is now the acting head of USAF’s acquisition office. We reported last week that Payton’s departure was pending.

Panelists at the Center for National Policy’s F-22 forum yesterday in Washington, D.C., tackled the question of whether 187 Raptors are really enough as the Defense Secretary Robert Gates espouses and current Air Force leaders say they support. Author and...

The chamber of commerce for the Destin area of the Florida panhandle has called on the nearby city of Valparaiso to drop its lawsuit against the Air Force over the service’s decision to beddown F-35s at Eglin Air Force Base...

Air Force and Northrop Grumman officials marked the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the T-38 trainer aircraft during a ceremony April 10 at the headquarters of the company’s aerospace sector in El Segundo, Calif. “The impact this aircraft...

The 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall AFB, Fla., on April 10 formally dedicated a monument to the 67,000 airmen who trained in aerial gunnery during World War II at the base’s former Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School. “Many of...

Maj. Gen. David Gillett Jr., commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla., earlier this month laid out his strategic objectives for Fiscal 2010, calling for the depot to be “the aerospace logistics provider of choice.”...

Brig. Gen. Mike Callan, vice commander of 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa), led a team to Rwanda and Ethiopia in late March to meet with senior defense officials in both countries to ascertain how US Africa Command could assist...

The 402nd Electronics Maintenance Group at Robins AFB, Ga., a unit that tests and repairs avionics on various military aircraft, has won a second place Shingo Prize, a prestigious award considered the Nobel Prize of manufacturing. “It’s wonderful news,” said...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaApril 11-12, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 44 17 61 3,963 CAS/Armed Recon 46 145 191 10,069 Airlift 280 280 13,600 Air refueling 84 84 4,552 Total 616 32,184...