The COVID-19 pandemic inspired the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., to pioneer a new kind of USAF birthday celebration: a drive-in Air Force ball. The idea to transition the ball from an in-person party to a drive-in celebration stemmed from unique ...
For the next four weeks, USAF Airmen and F-16s and Bulgarian air force fighter aircraft will fly NATO air patrols over Bulgaria to protect the nation’s airspace, improve the Air Force’s interoperability with its counterparts there, and serve as a show “of Allied solidarity,” NATO ...
The Air Force recently chose Collins Aerospace Systems, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, to provide NP2000 propeller systems for 30 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve C-130H aircraft, the company announced Sept. 14. “With its eight composite blades and digital Electronic Propeller Control System (EPCS), ...
American military forces used a large-scale training exercise in the Pacific this month to experiment with new ways of commanding troops as part of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System effort. The Air Force’s third ABMS demonstration, known as an “on-ramp,” quietly unfolded Sept. ...
C-17s and Airmen deployed for Operation Deep Freeze have started flying crucial personnel and equipment into Antarctica for winter flying season. The C-17s, deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., have flown three missions in recent weeks, transporting 151 personnel and 165,000 pounds of cargo to ...
Earlier this year, the Air Force undertook an experiment to see whether fresh blood could be safely airdropped to medics working in harsh settings. “The research team determined an airdrop is a viable way of delivering blood to combat medics treating hemorrhaging patients in a ...
As the Defense Department prepares to release its Annual Suicide Report in the coming weeks, Air Force Magazine details the impact suicide has had on the Total Force so far in 2020, and how the service’s top uniformed leaders and its reserve component are working ...
MQ-9 Reapers, the workhorse drone of America’s two-decade counterterrorism fight in the Middle East and Africa, want to show they’re getting a second wind. The MQ-9 schoolhouse at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., recently rewrote its syllabus to prepare Reaper pilots and sensor operators for ...
For Aviano Air Base’s 555th Fighter Squadron, Thracian Viper 20 is about more than just training. The multilateral exercise, to which the squadron sent Airmen and six F-16s, boosts “operational capacity and capability," as well as interoperability with Bulgaria, Maj. Rohan Naldrett-Jays, the squadron’s chief ...
As Congress looks to delay passage of a new federal funding package until after the November elections, the Air Force is warning that even a three-month gap would harm national defense. “[Continuing resolutions] immediately disrupt major exercises and training events, affect readiness and maintenance, curtail ...
The Air Force this month finished the biggest upgrade to the B-1B Lancer fleet ever. The Integrated Battle Station program, which includes three separate avionics and cockpit upgrades, began in 2012. Since then, 62 aircraft have received the upgrade, almost all on a dedicated line ...
Tech firms SimpleSense and Novetta will take the lead in setting up a new kind of operations center for Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., as part of its “Base of the Future” effort. The Air Force awarded $9 million to startup SimpleSense this month for ...