Keys Hanging Up Spurs:
After 40 years on the job, Gen. Ronald Keys, head of Air Combat Command since May 2005, has decided to call it a day. The Vietnam-era combat pilot has announced that he will retire in the fall. Keys is known...
An ISR Command?:
Ten years down the road, there may be an “ISR Command,” alongside Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command, says Lt. Gen. David Deptula, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance boss on the Air Staff. He said Thursday that creating a major command for ISR...
This Is As Good As It Gets:
Defense spending has probably reached an “apex” for the foreseeable future, and it’s probably “going down from here,” Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for ISR, told reporters in Washington yesterday. Mounting bills for social programs, social security,...
Too Late?:
Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF’s intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance boss, told Washington-based defense reporters Thursday he wants to ensure that the Air Force’s ISR community is involved in developing the concept of operations for space radar. “The system is still in the concept...
Another Delay Forecast for ABL:
The timing of the Airborne Laser’s rare venture out of the testing facility (see below) falls at a critical moment for the program, according to officials, as the ABL took a big hit from House authorizers who want to slide...
ABL Comes to Town:
The sole Airborne Laser aircraft—YAL-1— stopped over at Andrews AFB, Md., just outside Washington, Thursday and offered visitors a rare look inside the boost phase missile interceptor. While the converted Boeing 747 was missing its main weapon—the Chemical Oxygen Iodine...
Sooner, Not Later:
There have been three Joint Requirements Oversight Council sessions recently on the subject of the Air Force’s bid to be executive agent for unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Lt. Gen. David Deptula, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for...
Triple Nickel to Kunsan:
US Air Forces in Europe has dispatched 18 F-16s and some 300 airmen from Aviano AB, Italy, to Kunsan AB, South Korea, for a 120-day deployment, during which the 555th Fighter Squadron airmen will train with the 8th Fighter Wing...
Wing Box Whizzes:
The technicians at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia once again have returned an Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft to the command ahead of time. The center repaired an MC-130H Combat Talon II, replacing its center wing box...
Opportunity Knocks:
The 18th Wing at Kadena AB, Japan, on the island of Okinawa has sent one of its KC-135s and crews to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, where they are training to refuel the new C-17 airlifter. TSgt. Chris Vadnais reports that the...
Inactivation at Moody:
Air Education and Training Command inactivated its 479th Flying Training Group at Moody AFB, Ga., on Thursday. The group has provided advanced fighter training and undergraduate pilot training at Moody for the past eight years, reports A1C Eric Schloeffel. Per...
Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism
June 19, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 16 10 26 CAS/Armed Recon 68 59 127 Airlift 164 164 Air refueling 59 59 Total 84 69 223 376 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...