Free Republic 1st Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $73,548
90%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 90%!! Thank you everyone!! God bless.

Keyword: airforce

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Rafale proposal 'effectively dead' as Dassault bid not cheapest

    02/16/2015 2:39:23 AM PST · by IndianChief · 11 replies
    Business Standard ^ | February 16, 2015 | Ajai Shukla
    Even as three Rafale fighters line up in Bengaluru for eye-popping aerobatics displays at the Aero India 2015 exhibition this week, senior ministry of defence (MoD) sources say the proposal to buy the French fighter is "effectively dead".The reason: During three years of negotiations between Dassault and MoD officials in the so-called "contract negotiation committee" (CNC), it has emerged that Dassault's bid was actually higher than that of the Eurofighter Typhoon, not lower as the MoD had announced on January 31, 2012. Dassault had submitted a sketchy commercial bid, and when the CNC obtained details from the French company to...
  • Fascinating photos reveal how they built the SR-71 Blackbird

    02/07/2015 10:23:21 AM PST · by rey · 97 replies
    SPLOID Gizmodo.com ^ | 7 Feb 2015 | Jesus Diaz
    Built and designed in the 1960s after the A-12 Oxcart, the SR-71 Blackbird is still the fastest, most vanguardist air-breathing airplane in the history of aviation. These once classified photos reveal how Lockheed built both birds in secret, in California. They look taken at the Rebel base in Hoth. "Everything had to be invented" The A-12 and the SR-71 were a completely different design from anything else before it—and everything after, as time has demonstrated. At the time, many of the technologies needed to make these airplanes were considered "impossible." And yet, thanks to Kelly Johnson and the amazing team...
  • Veteran Protests Davis-Monthan Home Flying Gay-Friendly Flag (AF Base)

    02/06/2015 3:57:04 PM PST · by ilovesarah2012 · 24 replies
    military.com ^ | February 6, 2015
    n outspoken wounded veteran from Tucson has caused a stir on social media over his objection to a flag he calls an affront to the American flag. Instead of red and white stripes, the flag flying recently at a home on Tucson's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base has stripes of rainbow colors -- traditionally used to show gay pride. Former Senior Airman Brian Kolfage, who lost two legs and an arm in an attack in Iraq, says the flag parodies the American flag. Kolfage says it's illegal and had no business flying on a military base. "I was cutting across base...
  • Islamic State purportedly sets new deadline for hostage swap

    01/29/2015 12:45:54 AM PST · by CorporateStepsister · 7 replies
    Reuters ^ | January 29 2015 | Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Linda Sieg
    AMMAN/TOKYO - An audio message purportedly from a Japanese journalist being held by Islamic State militants said a Jordanian air force pilot also captured by the group would be killed unless an Iraqi female prisoner in Jordan was released by sunset on Thursday. The message appeared to postpone a previous deadline set on Tuesday in which the journalist, Kenji Goto, said he would be killed within 24 hours if the Iraqi was not freed. The latest audio recording, which could not be verified by Reuters, was posted on YouTube early on Thursday. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a...
  • Pentagon To Scrap Warplane The Islamic State Fears

    01/26/2015 10:13:33 AM PST · by raptor22 · 58 replies
    Investor's Business Daily ^ | January 26, 2016 | IBD EDITORIALS
    Defense Spending: The venerable A-10 Warthog, designed to stop Soviet tanks, and the perfect weapon to "degrade and destroy" the Islamic State, as President Obama promised, faces a budgetary chopping block. We have noted the irony of how Obama was going to war against the Islamic State with weapons systems he had scrapped, ending the production runs of the F-22 Raptor and Tomahawk cruise missiles. They were dismissed by the administration as relics of the Cold War even as Russia was rearming and trying to reassemble the old Soviet Union. We've also mentioned the phasing out of the A-10 Thunderbolt,...
  • Air Force UFO files hit the Web

    01/19/2015 9:31:20 AM PST · by GreyFriar · 27 replies
    FoxNews ^ | Jan. 19, 2015 | No Byline
    From eyewitness accounts of “trails of light” streaking across the sky to sightings of flying saucers, now amateur Mulder and Scullys alike can see if the truth really is out there by poring over almost 130,000 pages of declassified UFO documents that are now available online, reports MilitaryTimes.com. After spending decades filing Freedom of Information Act requests, John Greenewald, a UFO enthusiast, posted declassified records from Project Blue Book -- the U.S. Air Force’s records on alleged UFO and extraterrestrial sightings -- on an online database.
  • My daughter brought up joining the Air Force again

    01/19/2015 11:04:04 PM PST · by MacMattico · 79 replies
    Me
    A while back I brought up that my daughter had mentioned she was researching and thinking about joining the military. About 80% of the people that responded said "not in this environment". Which I completely understand. She brought it up again tonight. I asked her why. She is a very intelligent girl and would probably get in to many colleges with scholarship money. Before when she brought it up, she didn't say why, just that she was looking. Today was different. She told me how much of her high school has turned anti-military and talk about today's soldiers and marines...
  • Hagel Visits San Diego In Farewell Tour To Promote Next-Gen Bomber

    01/14/2015 11:47:10 AM PST · by smokingfrog · 31 replies
    KPBS ^ | 1-13-15 | Robert Burns
    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday vigorously endorsed an Air Force plan to build a next-generation strategic bomber, arguing that it would help deter nuclear war and preserve America's global pre-eminence. "I think the long-range strike bomber is absolutely essential to keep our deterrent edge as we go into the next 25 years," Hagel told reporters after addressing a group of several hundred airmen at this B-2 stealth bomber base in western Missouri. Hagel later traveled to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, and also planned to visit Navy sailors aboard an aircraft carrier and Army soldiers in...
  • A Flying Fortress Miracle/Incredible story of one B-17’s survival

    01/05/2015 9:19:00 AM PST · by SMARTY · 35 replies
    Warbirds of America
    I just ran into this. It's to amazing. The Link is: http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/eaa-warbirds-of-america-warbird-and-ex-military-aircraft/articles/2014-09-a-flying-fortress-miracle
  • Story of the A 10 Warthog and why the F 35 will never be as loved

    12/31/2014 10:05:21 PM PST · by smokingfrog · 51 replies
    youtube ^ | 12-31-14 | Björn Lundahl
    Pierre Sprey discusses design goals of the A-10 Warthog.
  • The Trillion Dollar F-35 Won't Even Be Able to Shoot Its Gun Until 2019

    12/31/2014 7:19:35 PM PST · by thetallguy24 · 67 replies
    Gizmodo ^ | 12/31/2014 | Adam Clark Estes
    At this point, it's not even funny how much the Pentagon has screwed up the development of its new stealth fighter jet, the F-35. But the latest report that the jet's 25mm cannon won't be operational until 2019 at the earliest is just laughable. Even more laughable is that it probably doesn't even need the gun to begin with. Unnamed Air Force officials revealed the bad news in a Daily Beast story about the F-35. Apparently the software that will power the four-barreled rotary cannon on the Air Force version of the jet, the F-35A, won't be ready for at...
  • Warplane downed by Islamic State and pilot taken hostage

    12/24/2014 6:03:26 AM PST · by huldah1776 · 30 replies
    ITV ^ | December 24, 2014 | N/A
    A warplane has been downed in an Islamic State-controlled region of Syria and the pilot taken captive, according to both a monitoring group and supporters of the extremist group. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain, said the plane came down near Raqqa - a major Islamic State stronghold. *** 3 hours ago Jordan Army confirms pilot captured by Islamic State The Jordan Army has confirmed one of its pilots has been captured in Syria during coalition air raids. In a statement, the army said Islamic State "bears responsibility for his safety". The pilot has been...
  • Is China’s air force catching up to the U.S. Air Force?

    12/15/2014 9:31:37 AM PST · by SleeperCatcher
    Absolute Rights ^ | 12/15/2014 | Jon E Dougherty
    I am deeply disappointed that Greenpeace engaged in an action at the sacred Nazca Lines in Peru. We have been hearing from many of you and I share your frustration and anger about this situation. The decision to engage in this activity shows a complete disregard for the culture of Peru and the importance of protecting sacred sites everywhere. There is no apology sufficient enough to make up for this serious lack of judgment. I know my international colleagues who engaged in this activity did not do so with malice, but that doesn’t mitigate the result. It is a shame...
  • Air Force Secretary: Transgender people should serve in military because ‘times change’

    12/12/2014 7:38:34 PM PST · by Morgana · 61 replies
    LIFE SITE NEWS ^ | Dec 11, 2014 | Ben Johnson
    The Obama administration is signaling its support for transgender people to serve openly in the military, in the barracks of their choice. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James summarized the position, saying, "Times change." She told USA Today yesterday that the possibility of transgender service "is likely to come under review in the next year or so.” James, who never served in the military, was appointed to a Defense Department position in the Clinton administration before being tapped to lead a branch of the service by Barack Obama. “I don't believe this would be a positive step for military readiness...
  • Secretary of the Air Force Supports Lifting the Military Transgender Ban

    12/10/2014 9:33:04 PM PST · by 2ndDivisionVet · 20 replies
    Human Rights Campaign Blog ^ | December 10, 2014 | Stephen Peters
    Today, the Secretary of the Air Force, Deborah Lee James, came out in support of lifting the military’s ban on transgender service. In an interview with USA Today, when asked about the current ban, she said, “From my point of view, anyone who is capable of accomplishing the job should be able to serve.” She also said the current ban “is likely to come under review in the next year or so.” The repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy allowed lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals to serve in the military openly and honestly. However, while the...
  • Unloved Warthog lives to fight another day

    12/09/2014 9:00:06 AM PST · by bkopto · 75 replies
    Washington Examiner ^ | 12/8/2014 | Charles Hoskinson
    The A-10 fighter jet, designed to kill Soviet tanks in Europe, made its reputation instead in America's Middle East wars. Now it's back in the region while its advocates fight off the Air Force's attempts to kill it. A-10s from the Indiana National Guard arrived from Afghanistan last month at an air base in southwest Asia, where they will be used for missions against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Air Force officials said. The plane, affectionately nicknamed the Warthog, is slow and ugly compared with the Air Force's other fighter jets, especially the stealthy, supersonic F-35 that is...
  • A-10 Warthog retirement debated after replacement’s role in ‘friendly fire’ deaths

    12/01/2014 9:17:03 AM PST · by george76 · 103 replies
    Washington Times ^ | November 30, 2014 | Rowan Scarborough
    A large association of battlefield target spotters has written to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to oppose the planned retirement of A-10 Warthog strike jets — a debate that now encompasses the “friendly fire” deaths of five American soldiers in Afghanistan. The A-10 endorsement from the Tactical Air Control Party Association is significant because, outside of the Warthog’s pilots themselves, perhaps no other warriors know its ability to protect ground troops under fire better than the ground controllers who guide it to enemy targets. ... The five fatalities occurred on June 9, when a B-1B strategic bomber — a planned replacement...
  • Modernized Blackjack takes off after avionic upgrade

    Tu-160 has a lift-generating airframe, which is mostly made of aluminum alloys. Titanium alloys make up to 20% of the airframe mass. The bomber’s airframe has a distinctive appearance, with the wing and fuselage gradually integrated into a single-piece configuration. The variable geometry wings (the sweep angle can be varied from 20 to 65) allow the aircraft to use complex flight profiles from low subsonic speeds to mach 2. Photo: UAC/Tupolev design Bureau The first Tupolev Tu-160M Blackjack has completed its maiden flight after an avionic modernization that revamped the bombers’ radar and avionic systems in the past two years....
  • The Air Force Just Fired Two More Nuclear Missile Commanders

    11/04/2014 11:16:39 AM PST · by Whenifhow · 50 replies
    Business Insider ^ | Nov 4, 2014 | Robert Burns
    Adding to signs of distress in the nuclear force, the Air Force fired two commanders and disciplined a third in response to internal investigations of leadership lapses and misbehavior at two of its three intercontinental ballistic missile bases. The most senior officer to be relieved was Col. Carl Jones, the No. 2 commander of the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, in charge of 150 of the Air Force's 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear ICBMs. He was dismissed "for a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership abilities," and has been reassigned as a special assistant...
  • AP EXCLUSIVE: Military sex survey draws complaints

    11/01/2014 1:40:45 AM PDT · by GonzoII · 22 replies
    AP ^ | Oct. 31, 2014 5:12 PM EDT | LOLITA C. BALDOR
    <p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Shocked and offended by explicit questions, some U.S. servicemen and women are complaining about a new sexual-assault survey that hundreds of thousands have been asked to complete.</p> <p>The survey is conducted every two years. But this year's version, developed by the Rand Corp., is unusually detailed, including graphically personal questions on sexual acts.</p>