Daily Report

The Air Force intends to retire 59 aircraft next fiscal year and add 137 new airframes to its inventory in that same span, according to its proposed force structure realignments, released Tuesday. The list of aircraft to be phased out includes: 28 C-130Es, seven C-21As, three C-9Cs, 17 C-5As, two MC-130Es, and two T-43s. The aircraft slated to join the force are: eight C-130Js, 10 C-17s, six C-27Js, one C-37B, three CV-22s, 19 F-22As, 11 F-35As, four MC-130Js, 16 MQ-1s, 29 MQ-9s, five RQ-4Bs, and 25 T-41Ds (for the Air Force Academy). Some of the planned retirements, such as the 17 C-5As, are contingent on Congressional approval stemming from language in Fiscal 2010 defense legislation. (Fiscal 2011 force structure announcement and briefing charts, caution large file)

Senior Air Force officials say the new arrangement to use 18 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve C-130H transports temporarily to build a C-130 schoolhouse at Little Rock AFB, Ark., is a great example of the service leveraging the...

Little Rock AFB, Ark, will receive eight Air National Guard C-130 airlifters and 10 Air Force Reserve Command C-130s on a temporary basis to establish a C-130 formal training unit, according to the Air Force's proposed force structure realignments for Fiscal 2011, issued Tuesday. The seven ANG units sending aircraft are: the 109th Airlift Wing in Schenectady, N.Y. (one aircraft); 136th AW at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex. (one); 139th AW at Rosecrans, Mo. (two); 152nd AW in Reno, Nev. (one); 153rd AW in Cheyenne, Wyo. (one); 165th AW in Savannah, Ga. (one); and 166th AW in New Castle, Del. (one). The AFRC wings involved are: the 94th AW at Dobbins ARB, Ga. (one); 440th AW at Pope AFB, N.C. (four); 908th AW at Maxwell AFB, Ala. (one); 910th AW in Youngstown, Ohio (two); 911th AW in Pittsburgh, Pa. (one); and 914th AW in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (one). (Fiscal 2011 force structure announcement and briefing charts, caution large file.)

Air Force Materiel Command announced Tuesday that its acquisition elements would abandon the wing, group, and squadron construct they adopted several years ago as a way to foster a more operational acquisition force. (Gen. Donald Hoffman, head of Air Force Materiel Command, had acknowledged in February this change was coming.) The new construct builds on the Air Force acquisition improvement plan that aims to bolster effectiveness and revitalize the acquisition workforce. AFMC expects to implement the switch to directorates, divisions, and branches by June 30. Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, Wednesday announced its new structure, which ASC boss Lt. Gen. Tom Owen said would "significantly improve communication and oversight of programs." ASC plans five directorates: agile combat support, fighters/bombers, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance/special operations forces, mobility, and tanker. (Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., predicted the change last fall.) (See AFMC release for the full list of affected units.) (Wright-Patterson report by Daryl Mayer) (For background, see Air Force Magazine's Operational Acquisition from April 2004)

Preparations are proceeding on track for the May 20 launch of the first Global Positioning System Block IIF satellite, Col. Dave Madden, GPS Wing commander, told reporters during a Wednesday teleconference. This Boeing-built satellite currently is set to go into...

The Air National Guard provides an experienced, trained, equipped, and ready force to the nation at a fraction of the cost of the Air Force’s active duty component or other nation’s militaries, says Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, ANG director. “The...

Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz says the Air Force’s intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance community needs to find creative ways to handle the increasing deluge of data coming from sensors on overhead information-gathering aircraft other than just bringing on more intelligence analysts. Those...

The Minnesota Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth held a ceremony on April 30 to celebrate the arrival of its first F-16 Block 50 aircraft three days prior. The unit is scheduled to receive 20 Block 50 aircraft...

Air Force Reserve Command’s 911th Airlift Wing at Pittsburgh ARS, Pa., is incorporating a new tail flash on its C-130H transports that honors its home town by showing a steel beam with the city’s name written on it. “The steel...

A team from the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Center for Cyberspace Research at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, received the best score in this year's cyber defense exercise (CDX) sponsored by the National Security Agency. This annual event pits NSA cyber security experts against students from the US military service academies and Defense Department post-graduate schools. During the five-day exercise, the teams of students must protect their respective networks while under attack by NSA mock aggressors. “This year’s exercise incorporated additional realism by adding users who perform typical tasks that end up compromising their computer,” said Tim Lacey, CCR adjunct instructor of computer science. Both of CCR's teams performed well, but team two achieved the highest overall score. AFIT students began competing in the CDX in 2003 and have earned high point distinction for seven of the past eight years. (Wright-Patterson release)

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, May 8, 2010 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 24 47 71 7,953 CAS/Armed Recon 20 85 105 11,891 Airlift 183 183 21,836 Air refueling 42 42 5,490 Rescue 34 34 1,921 Total...