Daily Report

Airmen among Victims of Deadly Helicopter Crash: The Defense Department Aug. 11 announced that three airmen were among the 30 US military personnel and eight Afghans killed in the Aug. 6 crash of an Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Wardak...

A precision airstrike by USAF F-16s killed the Taliban fighters responsible for shooting down the CH-47 helicopter Aug. 6, which killed all 38 US and Afghan troops on board, Marine Corps Gen. John Allen told reporters via satellite connection Aug....

Eight days after F-35 operations were suspended due to an Integrated Power Package failure on aircraft AF-4, ground operations have resumed on developmental test aircraft, the F-35 Joint Program Office said Aug. 11. “This is the first step in returning...

The Air Force has released an updated instruction outlining guidance and procedures for cyber capabilities that appears to go beyond the Pentagon's typical defensive cyber rhetoric. Unlike, the Defense Department's recently released cyber strategy, which focused primarily on preventing cyber attacks, the new policy directive specifically addresses offensive cyber capabilities, requiring "a thorough and accurate legal review" of all offensive cyber actions. The document also offers a clear definition of those capabilities, including "any device or software payload intended to disrupt, deny, degrade, negate, impair, or destroy adversarial computer systems, data, activities, or capabilities." The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, according to the document, is responsible for ensuring the legality of all cyber weapons and for monitoring the "the lethal characteristics and accuracy of weapons under review." That's not an easy task, according to the online Secrecy News, which maintains that law and policy regarding cyberspace rarely are clearly defined and, when they do exist they are "inconsistent with the use of offensive cyber tools."

Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, the Russian air force chief, said the Su-35S avionics and integrated defense system falls short of the capabilities of “American fighters of the same type,” reported Stephen Trimble in his DEW Line blog. The announcement was...

A small kit nestled into an empty compartment in the RQ-4B Global Hawk’s wing has solved the prickly problem of finding a suitable emergency landing field. Because Global Hawk requires a special tow-bar for ground handling, it was limited to...

A little more than a month before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Russia and the US completed the second Vigilant Eagle exercise, designed to improve communication in the event of a cross boarder hijacking. The five-day exercise simulated...

China’s first aircraft carrier started its sea trial Aug. 10, highlighting once again the country’s rapid military build-up. The Chinese are believed to have bought the old Soviet ship in 1998 without an engine, electronics, or propeller, reported AFP. Military...

Brig. Gen. Kurt Neubauer, commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, recently topped 4,000 flight hours in the F-16. “To the combat pilots of the past, thank you for showing the way; to today’s, seize the day with gusto. To...

Contingency response airmen with the North Carolina Air National Guard 145th Airlift Wing helped train the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces how to build an air base and sustain airfield operations as part of Operation Pacific Angel. “We’re here to show...