A member of the Texas Air National Guard died of COVID-19-related issues, the first uniformed member of the Department of the Air Force and ninth service member overall to die of the disease. The Air National Guardsman has not been identified. The death was reported ...
The number of U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan has increased despite ongoing peace talks with the Taliban aimed at ending the 19-year-old war. U.S. Forces-Afghanistan in October reported that airstrikes supporting Afghan forces on the ground have increased from the second to third quarter—a step that ...
Two dozen more companies have joined the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System effort to network its aircraft, sensors, and computer systems, the Pentagon said Nov. 4. Nearly 100 contractors are now part of that project, which offers hundreds of billions of dollars for technologies ...
The House Armed Services Committee next year will be shaped not only by which members win reelection this week, but also by the members who won’t return and a potential ally in the White House. HASC leadership will remain largely intact, while Republicans will see ...
The Senate Armed Services Committee appears likely to maintain its status quo, as the prospect of Democratic control of the Senate has dimmed after Election Day. SASC Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) won reelection by wide margins on ...
The Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Flight Academy—which lets qualifying youth become certified as private pilots and start their collegiate studies for free—is returning in 2021 after a pandemic-induced hiatus, according to a Nov. 2 release. AFJROTC high school cadets who will be ...
Troops can now wear their physical fitness clothing inside base commissaries and exchanges, according to a memorandum from Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper released this week.
U.S. Air Force Academy cadets will forgo Thanksgiving break and end the fall semester early as the school adjusts its academic calendar in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Cadets will finish final exams on Dec. 11, and winter break runs Dec. 14, 2020, to Jan. ...
A team of five female Airmen last week evaluated a flight suit designed to be more comfortable and functional for women pilots battling gravitational forces in the cockpit. High-speed pilots wear G-suits to avoid health issues when they rapidly accelerate in flight, but since 2001, ...
Nineteenth Air Force has transformed Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph’s Hangar 62 into an official hub for teaching the next generation of trainer aircraft maintainers. The 19th Air Force Maintenance Training Center, which the numbered Air Force opened on Oct. 29, will serve as a schoolhouse ...
The Air Force is moving forward with its “bridge tanker” project—the air-refueling aircraft acquisition formerly known as “KC-Y”—in a “full and open competition” to replace the KC-135 Stratotanker fleet. It is a stepping stone to a more futuristic tanker, Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Jacqueline ...
The Senate on Oct. 26 confirmed Maj. Gen. Robert J. Skinner as the next head of the Defense Information Systems Agency, as well as for promotion to lieutenant general. Skinner, who currently oversees command, control, communications, and cyber operations for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, was ...