An Associated Press report picked up by news media around the world declares that Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes the Air Force is not doing enough in the global war on terror. The reporter pointedly referred to the Air Force...

The Air Force has been operating under escalating Predator requirements since early Fiscal 2007, when it readjusted the program of record for the MQ-1 force to reach the Joint Requirements Oversight Council-directed 21 Predator combat air patrols by October 2009. The Air Force programmed equipment and training to meet that mark; however, in July 2007, at SECDEF’s request, USAF accelerated the drive to reach 21 CAPs by a year, setting its new goal post as October 2008. To meet that requirement, the service delayed upgrades to older equipment and used backup equipment, and it ramped up to train 160 crews per year, holding over current crews to help in that training. In September 2007, SECDEF requested an increase to 18 CAPs by November 2007, which USAF accomplished by cutting ops testing and calling upon reserve personnel and prior Predator crews. In January of this year, SECDEF directed yet another change—bumping up Predator CAPs to 24 by June 1. This latest directive, which the Air Force says it is “on track to meet,” takes the Predator push out of the “acceleration” bracket and into a “surge” because it exceeds the program of record and the JROC-validated requirement for 21 CAPs, states Air Force spokesman Maj. David Small. The Air Force believes it can sustain this level of effort only through early 2009, when the Air National Guard mobilization must end, because it doesn’t have the end strength to continue. And, the service knows that its increased training pipeline will not be sufficient, so it plans to increase from 160 to 240 crews per year in Fiscal 2009. (Shifting requirements graph)

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in his widely reported April 21 remarks (see above) at the Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., acknowledged that the Air Force has been “in the process of constant change for decades” with, what he termed...

The recent report of command influence in award of an Air Force contract for promotion of its Thunderbird aerial demonstration team naturally has attracted Congressional interest, so it is unlikely that Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne will be able to...

The Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing has received the last two of its newly acquired A-10 Warthogs, reports the Times Record. Once on the BRAC 2005 hit list, the unit has transitioned from F-16s to A-10s, receiving its...

One of the Air Force’s oldest A-10 Warthogs is still flying close air support missions over Afghanistan, deployed from the 81st Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem AB, Germany. Hog #V281 entered service in July 1982 at RAF Bentwaters, England and has...

The Air Force has awarded the Bronze Star medal to Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Brent Howell for his actions while deployed to Bagram AB, Afghanistan. During one mission on his seven-month deployment, Howell, who serves with...

If Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has his way, the first F-16C model to fly past 7,000 hours will not go to the boneyard at the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Arizona at the end of the year, reports Associated...

A new Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded effort may lead to the ability to predict air turbulence. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers, led by mathematical engineering professor George Haller and graduate student Manikandan Mathur, have dubbed their discovery...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaApril 17-19, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 60 28 88 2,983 CAS/Armed Recon 127 121 248 9,036 Airlift 338 338 13,402 Air refueling 130 130 4,151 Total 804 29,572...