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A U.S. C-130 transport plane crashed near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, early Friday, two defense officials told NBC News. The crash happened shortly after midnight local time near Jalalabad Airport.

A U.S. airman who helped disarm a gunman on a Paris-bound train last month will receive a Purple Heart medal, the U.S. Air Force leader said on Monday, in an unusual award of the honor to a serviceman wounded while not in a combat zone. (snip) In addition to the Purple Heart, Stone will receive the Airman’s Medal, the Air Force’s highest non-combat award for bravery. The medals will be awarded at a ceremony at the Pentagon this week.

The Pentagon sank $400 billion into the F-35 stealth jet—only to have it come up way short. So they’re working on a secret new bomber to handle the job instead. Government officials and aerospace executives have met in secret. Engineers have drawn up blueprints, crafted components, and assembled prototypes, all under strict confidentiality agreements. Lobbyists are prowling the halls of Congress and the Pentagon, smiling, shaking hands, exerting influence. For the first time in more than three decades, the Pentagon and America’s aerospace industry are uniting to build a big, expensive, high-tech stealth bomber. And that’s a huge deal for...

LAS VEGAS – The U.S. Air Force is giving an ultimatum to owners of a remote Nevada property that over time has been surrounded by a vast bombing range including the super-secret Area 51. They're being told to take a $5.2 million "last best offer" for their property by Thursday -- or the government will seize it through condemnation. The owners include descendants of a couple who lost their hardscrabble mining enterprise after the Air Force moved in in the 1940s. Nuclear tests then began in 1951, their mine mill mysteriously exploded in 1954 and they ran out of money...

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's calamitous effects, an image of U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Mike Maroney locked in a heartwarming embrace with a young girl he encountered during rescue operations became a symbol of hope and optimism. For the last decade, Maroney has been determined to meet the child he hugged in the iconic photo. In March, the Air Force Times launched the "Find Katrina Kid" campaign to help Maroney reconnect with the little girl.

Khobar Towers June 23, 2006 The Wall Street Journal Louis J. Freeh Ten years ago this Sunday, acting under direct orders from senior Iranian government leaders, the Saudi Hezbollah detonated a 25,000-pound TNT bomb that killed 19 U.S. airmen in their dormitory at Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The blast wave destroyed Building 131 and grievously wounded hundreds of additional Air Force personnel. It also killed an unknown number of Saudi civilians in a nearby park. The 19 Americans murdered were members of the 4404th Wing, who were risking their lives to enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq....

Last month we talked about some early flight test reports which hinted that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter might be in trouble after years of development and hundreds of billions of dollars of funding. At that time the military was evaluating the jet in early tests against our own previous generation fighters and the results were mixed at best. Now that the aircraft has been at least initially approved, additional analysis is coming in. One such study is broken down by Martin Matishak at the Fiscal Times and, rather than stacking up the Lightning against our own Tomcats and...

A group calling itself the Islamic State hacking division has published the details of 1,400 mostly US military and government personnel, urging supporters to attack those listed. The spreadsheet, published online on Wednesday, exposes names, email addresses, phone numbers and passwords. Those listed include members of the marine corps, Nasa, the state department, air force and FBI. Supporters of Isis on Twitter seized on the breach, posting personal details of soldiers and government staffers and encouraging lone wolves to “act and kill”. A person claiming to speak for the group told the Guardian the information was obtained from military and...

Defense officials appear ready to ask Congress to repeal a law that commissaries must sell products at cost plus 5 percent, a formula that for decades has ensured commissary shoppers everywhere pay the same prices. Officials have drafted a replacement formula that would allow prices to vary from store to store to meet a new twin goal: reducing taxpayer support for commissaries while maintaining still attractive savings for patrons. Variable pricing would seek to keep savings consistent across the commissary system by pegging local commissary prices for a market basket of goods at some target percentage level below prices of...

A two-time recipient of the Bronze Star and a father of five were killed during military free-fall training in Florida, the Air Force announced late Tuesday. Tech. Sgt. Timothy Officer Jr., 32, and Tech. Sgt. Marty Bettelyoun, 35, were rushed to local hospitals after the accident at Eglin Air Force Base on Monday. Both were Special Tactics Airmen, a force made up of specially-trained air traffic controllers, pararescuemen specializing in rescue operations, and military weathermen and forecasters. ... Special tactics airmen are the Air Force's ground special operations forces. They often embed with Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces to...

Of all the candidates vying to become the nation’s next commander in chief, none has spent as much time in the military as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham. The South Carolina Republican retired from the Air Force this summer after a 33-year career, including two decades as a reservist while serving in Congress.Graham is running as a ­national-security hawk, calling himself a “battle-tested leader” with “a lifetime of military service.” Images of him wearing camouflage in the field are a common thread in his campaign.But a detailed examination of Graham’s military record — much of it obtained under the Freedom of...

See the inside of Fifi, the only B-29 Superfortress currently flying. It's part of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky's 20-year anniversary celebration.

The Navy and Marine Corps have joined the Army and Air Force in making it harder to discharge transgender military members. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus signed a memorandum last Wednesday stating, "Effective immediately, separations initiated under the provisions of the reference for service members with a diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria, who identify themselves as transgender, or who have taken steps to externalize the condition, must be forwarded to the assistant secretary of the Navy (manpower and reserve affairs) for decision." The memo was directed to the chief of naval operations and commandant of the Marine Corps. Previously, discharge...

A military fighter jet crashed into a Cessna flight midair about 11 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina this morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The condition of the pilots of the planes is unknown at this time. There have been no reports confirming any other passengers. In a statement, the FAA said the collision involved a Cessna C 150 and an F-16 fighter aircraft at around 11 a.m. A defense department official confirmed to ABC News that the pilot of the F-16 ejected safely. The plane and pilot came from Shaw Air Force Base, roughly 100 miles north...

...The Iranians may break or cheat on an agreement, and try build a nuclear weapon anyway. That’s why, at least three times in the past year, a B-2 stealth bomber has taken off from an Air Force base in Missouri and headed west to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. For these missions, the $2 billion plane was outfitted with one of the world’s largest bombs. It is a cylinder of special high-performance steel, 20 feet long and weighing 15 tons. When dropped from an altitude likely above 20,000 feet, the bomb would have approached supersonic speed before...

n F-16 from the 162nd Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard has crashed near Douglas close to Arizona's border with New Mexico, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base has confirmed.

Strength. That’s the first word that comes to mind when most of us think about 3D printing in metal. And expense is usually the second–but when it comes to fixing up a nation’s fighter jet, thrift is most likely not an issue. And if you were up against a constant adversary like North Korea, you’d want the best, most secure repairs possible for the main fleet’s F-15K fighter jet–especially if you were the one flying it. When it came to the attention of the South Korean Air Force powers that they needed to modify and repair two high-powered turbine components...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A grandson and namesake of the man who piloted the massive B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II is taking over leadership of the United States' aging fleet of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers. Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets IV takes command of the 509th Bomb Wing during a ceremony Friday at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, replacing Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck, who has led the wing since February 2014. Tibbets, 48, was previously deputy director for nuclear operations for the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in...

We are reliably assured by progressives in the modern era that spending, deficits and the national debt are no big deal and are generally just distractions and dog whistles tossed out by conservatives. After all, you can always just print more money or go out to the White House rose garden and pick more off the money tree or something, right? That’s why my LADAR (Leftist Radar) is always set off when I hear one of their spokesmodels suddenly becoming concerned over the budget. The most recent example of this comes from Steve Lopez at the LA Times, who takes...