The Story of the Afghanistan Airlift. Rescuing Afghans who had helped the U.S. cause over the past two decades was moving.
November 2021
Vol. 95, No. 11
After nearly 15 years in development and a $4 billion Air Force investment, two brand-new fighter engines are in test.
The Need for a Cost-Effective PGM Mix for Great Power Conflict
Wounding Warriors
How Bad Policy Is Making Veterans Sicker and Poorer.
More Uncomfortable Conversations
Leaders welcome a wider reckoning with discrimination and harassment.
Editorial: The Bill Comes Due
Modernization has never been more essential, nor the funds more elusive.
Heroes and Leaders: Survival at Lima Site 85
Etchberger’s actions made it possible for his companions to get off the mountain top alive.
Letters
We love letters! Write to us at letters@afa.org. To be published, letters should be timely, relevant and concise. Include your name and location. Letters may be edited for space and the editors have final say on which are published.
Verbatim
A collection of quotes on airpower, space power, and national security issues.
Strategy & Policy: North Korea’s Game Plan and Capability
Patterned on the “Soviet Military Power” series of the 1980s, and signed by DIA director Army Lt. Gen. Scott D. Berrier, the report assesses North Korea’s military capabilities.
Air Force Wants Up to 400 Advanced Fighter Trainers
Red air operations and training are priorities for USAF in the coming decade.
Heritage Rates Air Force and Space Force ‘Weak’
The Air and Space Forces rated “weak” ratings from the Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Index of U.S. Military Strength.
KC-46, F-35 Provide Lessons for Future Testing
Lessons from the KC-46 and F-35 will prove useful to the testing community in the years to come.
Senate Appropriators Release Their Plan for DOD in ’22
The $725.8 billion bill would raise DOD spending some $25 billion above the total proposed by President Joe Biden’s administration back in May.
Van Ovost Takes Charge of Transcom, Minihan Succeeds Her at AMC
Van Ovost is currently the only female four-star general in the Defense Department and just the fourth in Air Force history. She and retired Gen. Lori J. Robinson are now the only women to lead a unified combatant command—Robinson headed U.S. Northern Command and NORAD from 2016 to 2018.
Space Force Shakes Up Acquisition Again in Effort to Achieve Efficiencies
The Department of the Air Force described a plan to break out space policy from the as-yet unnamed space acquisitions chief.
USAF Changing Enlisted Promotion Recommendations to Favor Experience and Performance
The changes principally affect how Enlisted Performance Reports (EPR) will be scored.
Lockheed Martin Delivers Laser Weapon for AC-130J Gunship
The Airborne High Energy Laser (AHEL) has been in development at Lockheed Martin since at least 2019, when the company received a contract for integration, testing, and demonstration of such a weapon on the AC-130J aircraft.
Gen. Colin Powell Dies at 84
Colin Luther Powell, U.S. Soldier, diplomat, and statesman, died Oct. 18 at the age of 84.
Faces of the Force
Know of someone we should recognize? Send nominees to afmag@afa.org.
AFA in Action
The Legacy Flight Academy; Megan Tucker earned the 2021 AFA National Teacher of the Year Award.
2021 AFA Almanac
A compendium of facts and figures about the Air Force Association.
