Foreign fifth-generation fighters are a lot closer to being operational than has previously been disclosed, based on comments made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates April 7. His statements appear to contradict his own assertions on the previous day about US...

Evidence indicates that the Air Force really wanted 60 more F-22s for a fleet of 243 and did not favor stopping production at 187 as Defense Secretary Robert Gates decreed earlier this week. But Air Force Chief of Staff Gen....

The Defense Department and Intelligence Community intend to procure new imagery satellites and make greater use of services provided by commercial satellite imagery providers under a “2 plus 2” plan approved by the Obama Administration earlier this week to modernize...

Scott Large is stepping down as director of the National Reconnaissance Office, effective April 18, Reuters news wire service reported Thursday. According to Reuters, Large sent a memo to NRO employees on Wednesday announcing his decision, but without citing a...

Veteran Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) joined with airmen, friends, and state and local officials April 4 to formally dedicate the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 167th Airlift Wing as a fully operational C-5 unit, according to a release from the...

NATO air forces held a flag ceremony April 8 at NATO Allied Air Component Command headquarters at Ramstein AB, Germany, to mark the accession of Albania and Croatia as the 27th and 28th members of the alliance. Gen. Roger Brady,...

Seven NATO member air forces participated in the second Baltic air sovereignty training event that took place April 7 in the skies over northern Europe. Joining US Air Forces in Europe assets and personnel were airmen and aircraft from the...

Although the Air Force has not made a decision yet whether to adopt the Heritage Coat, the airmen who sampled it during a wear test gave it high marks. According to feedback from some 350 male and female airmen who...

The 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus AFB, Okla., inactivated its 55th Air Refueling Squadron after 14 years of service on April 1 and merged it with its 54th ARS. The 55th ARS, like the 54th ARS, was an Air...

Through a newly adopted strategy of persistent depredation, habitat denial techniques, and use of local falconers, the airmen in the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing’s safety office are making significant progress in keeping birds in check around Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan,...

April 7, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 22 22 44 3,777 CAS/Armed Recon 24 78 102 9,607 Airlift 135 135 12,890 Air refueling 44 44 4,379 Total 325 30,653 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...