The Air Force general who oversees Operation Noble Eagle says he is “very comfortable” with the prospect of new F-22 and F-35 fighters taking over the nation’s air sovereignty mission in the “10- to 15-year point.” However, Gen. Gene Renuart...

Boeing officials told Flight International that Air Combat Command is slated in July to complete a long-term upgrade roadmap for the F-15E Strike Eagle. According to the FI report, ACC wants to include approval for avionics and supportability upgrades in...

Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb, head of US Transportation Command, believes the Pentagon has “the overall mix [of airlift] about right, unless something changes.” When questioned by Senate Armed Services Committee members March 17, McNabb said that the current program...

The B-2 force currently deployed from Whiteman AFB, Mo., to Andersen AFB, Guam, on a regular strategic presence rotation recently flew a Polar Lightning mission, taking them from Guam to Alaska and back during a 24-hour sortie. As part of...

Air Force and Japanese airmen last week flew together in a defensive exercise over Kadena AB, Okinawa. A visiting force of F-22s from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley AFB, Va., joined with Japanese Air Self Defense Force pilots flying...

Air Force officials accepted the service's first MC-12W Project Liberty aircraft from Hawker Beechcraft March 19 in a ceremony at the company's Kansas facility. The service wants to deploy this latest addition to its intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance arsenal in Southwest Asia by next month, according to Brig. Gen. Blair Hansen, USAF's director of ISR capabilities, who talked with reporters about the concept in January. Joining Hansen at the ceremony was Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for ISR, who dubbed the aircraft "Liberty One" and said, "We'll be taking this aircraft and turning it into a robust ISR collection system." The MC-12W is based on the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350—seven on the basic 350 and 30 more on the 350 Extended Range. He continued, "the MC-12W will provide a comprehensive signals and imagery intelligence collection capability that will be fielded in Southwest Asia as soon as possible. (Deptula remarks)

Air Force and Air Force Association officials on Friday announced the selection of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal career field as the 2009 Team of the Year, naming the five EOD airmen who are to represent the field. They are: ¡SMSgt....

In unveiling its “stealthy” F-15 Silent Eagle concept on March 17, Boeing did not make any direct comparison between the level of low observability achievable with the Silent Eagle and the level of stealth of the Lockheed Martin F-35. Nor...

A KC-135 tanker crew operating out of Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, as Shell 73 on an aerial refueling sortie March 16 lost both its flight navigation systems. The three-person aircrew from Fairchild AFB, Wash., found no answers as they went through...

The Pentagon released its Fiscal 2008 Report on Sexual Assault in the Military last week, noting that the number of reports had increased by eight percent over 2007. However, officials do not necessarily think that higher number is negative. Gail...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaMar. 18, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 28 19 47 3,065 CAS/Armed Recon 24 87 111 7,647 Airlift 150 150 10,075 Air refueling 43 43 3,499 Total 351 24,286...