The Air Force’s Global Hawk high-altitude reconnaissance UAV has become the first unmanned system to receive an airworthiness certification stamp of approval. The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, recognized the momentous event with a ceremony on Jan. 25. This...

The top Air Force officer at Andersen AFB, Guam, says the base will not get the $350 million service officials had projected for Fiscal 2007. Col. Michael Boera, 36th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, on Jan. 25 told members of the...

The F-22A is the first fighter that can handle a sustained 9.5 g turn. So can the pilots—thanks to a new combination of flight gear. Raptor pilots wear the Combat Edge flight suit, as well as new G-pants, that give...

According to Air Force Col. John Daniels, Missile Defense Agency program lead on the Airborne Laser, the oft-quoted figure of $13 billion for the ABL program is wrong. He told a Marshall Institute roundtable audience that the $13 billion included...

Air Combat Command officials are going to show of the service’s new F-22A Raptor, recently declared operational, in 2006 but only for what is called a “heritage flyby.” That means they’ll do a photo pass with vintage aircraft but no...

Here’s a link to the Senate resolution (S. Res. 355) we noted in the last “Daily Report” that is supposed to put the Administration on notice that plans to cut the Army Guard and Air Guard will not be a...

A near-lethal and unexpected polar storm struck Greenland on Jan. 24, trapping two airmen from Thule Air Base on the island’s tundra in their stranded patrol truck without heat. US and Danish personnel rescued A1C John Wood and A1C Marc...

The exercise NORAD ran late last week to practice its ability to secure the Super Bowl in Detroit was not sufficient, according to command officials. There were “weather issues” that prevented a complete run-through of the exercise, which featured hundreds...

There is a group of 15 “extremely talented people” at Eglin AFB, Fla., whose job is to solve munitions equipment problems for the entire Air Force, says the unit’s superintendent, SMSgt Michael Kiser. The Munitions Materiel Handling Equipment Focal Point...

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta paid a visit to Lackland AFB, Tex., specifically to extend his thanks to the base’s airmen for their role in transporting and aiding evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In a 55-hour period during the Katrina...

Air Combat Command’s demonstration squadron, the Thunderbirds, is scheduled to perform more than 70 aerial demonstrations in 27 states—a busy schedule and one that will also include the unit’s first female pilot, Capt. Nicole Malachowski. The T Birds are already...

According to the Pentagon’s tally of the top dollar defense contractors for Fiscal 2005, Lockheed Martin led the way, followed by Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and Raytheon as the top five. The news is that BAE Systems, the British-based...

The Air Force is the leading purchaser of renewable energy in the EPA’s green power partnership for the second year in a row, according to the agency’s annual report. How much renewable energy does the Air Force buy? The answer...

The Air Force has paid $160,000 in claims related to a 27,000-acre fire that began on the Melrose Bombing Range last year. The Portales News-Tribune reports that SSgt. Craig Seals, a Cannon Air Force Base spokesman, says the Air Force...

Faced with an estimated shortage of 31,000 military child care spaces in military dependent care facilities, DOD officials are adding modular buildings, constructing new child care centers, and contracting with civilian centers. New facilities on military bases will soon provide...

Air Force Reserve Command plans to link early officer promotions—better known as position-vacancy promotions—to the quotas for mandatory promotion boards. The PV promotions now will have quotas matched to the mandatory board quotas. AFRC officials said to calculate the number...

January 26, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 5 – 15 CAS/Armed Recon 32 20 – 52 Airlift – – 185 185 Air refueling – – 26 26 Total 42 25 211 278 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...