The Air Force’s fledgling Rapid Sustainment Office plans to triple the number of aircraft using predictive maintenance algorithms in 2020, the service told Air Force Magazine. The Conditions-Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+) program, which started last year, and related initiatives use sensors and algorithms to collect ...
The Air Force has launched its competition for engines to power the F-15EX, after initial plans to simply award the contract to GE Aviation. The AIr Force wants 461 engines to be delivered at a maximum rate of six per month, ending with final deliveries ...
U.S. Air Forces in Europe will test its Agile Combat Employment concept of operations later this month, moving F-16s forward to another USAFE base where maintainers who typically work with mobility aircraft will apply their skills to fighter support. USAFE commander Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told ...
F-15E Strike Eagles and Airmen from RAF Lakenheath’s 492nd Fighter Squadron deployed to the Middle East in early May as part of ongoing combat operations in U.S. Central Command. The undisclosed number of aircraft and personnel from the squadron, nicknamed the “Bolars,” deployed to the ...
An Oregon Air National Guard F-15C on a May 2 homeland defense mission diverted to Joint Base Andrews, Md., due to an in-flight emergency and skidded off the runway, damaging the aircraft. The aircraft, from the 142nd Wing in Portland, was assigned to the North ...
The Air Force is spearheading development of the Defense Department’s first hypersonic cruise missile. The service on April 27 reached out to industry to seek input on a “solid rocket-boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic, conventional cruise missile” that can be launched from existing fighters and bombers. Air ...
The Air Force is extending its feasibility study into the use of privately owned aerial refueling tankers after an initial report determined further research is needed to understand legal and financial challenges. Last week, the Air Force delivered a Commercial Air Refueling Report to the ...
A B-1B Lancer flew a 30-hour flight to train alongside USAF and Japanese fighters on April 22, the first bomber sortie in the Pacific since the Air Force ended the continuous bomber presence mission on April 17. The B-1, from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., ...
The 493rd Fighter Squadron is the 2020 recipient of the Raytheon Trophy for the service’s top air superiority squadron, the fourth win in a row for the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England. The squadron received the award based in its performance in 2019, ...
When the Air Force needs combat aircraft to rapidly deploy, the F-15s and Airmen of the Liberty Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England, are often the first to respond. So when the new coronavirus outbreak hit the base, it required a quick and evolving response to ...
Sal Speziale studied in the halls of the U.S. Air Force Academy, flew the F-4 and F-15, and worked at the Pentagon while part of the Active duty Air Force. He later served with the District of Columbia Air National Guard, and spent over three ...
The Air Force’s depot maintenance activities continue unabated during the COVID-19 crisis, but Air Force Materiel Command is staying alert for supply chain issues that could affect throughput. “To date, no mission requirements have been impacted, and aircraft are still being inducted into the depots,” ...