Free Republic

Beijing is happy with the speed and quality of first Su-35 delivery, but makes local production prerequisite of more orders Multiple sources within Russia and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force suggest that Beijing and Moscow may have struck a preliminary deal for procurement by the PLAAF of more of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35 fighters. Hong Kong-based military monthly Kanwa Defense Review reported in February that the second batch of the highly maneuverable aircraft with thrust-vectoring engines had already descended on PLA airbases in southern China. Among those tipped as the likely locations to service and hangar the multi-role air-superiority fighters...

A top official at the Air Force Academy apologized for “microaggressions” that appeared in a school-wide email on haircut standards amid backlash to a reference to NBA great Michael Jordan. Cadets received the email on Wednesday from Master Sgt. Zachary Parish commenting on haircuts that did not meet the Academy’s standards and cast a “negative impression” on the “cadet population and armed service members at large.” Parish went on draw a comparison to Jordan. "He was never seen with a gaudy chain around his neck, his pants below his waistline, or with a backwards baseball hat on during public appearances,"...

Federal officials are testing the government's ability to identify gyrocopters and other small aircraft over Washington, D.C., nearly three years after a Florida mailman flew undetected past the White House before landing his 350-pound rotorcraft at the U.S. Capitol. The Air Force will fly a gyrocopter above the capital area at between 500 and 2,500 feet off the ground, and will fly Cessna and Sky Arrow aircraft between 500 and 8,000 feet above the ground, according to a Tuesday press release. “Using Cessna, Sky Arrow and Gyrocopter aircraft, a variety of flight patterns will be flown five to nine times...

A laundry list of provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act will reshape the military space chain of command and oversight of programs. Pentagon and Air Force officials are still grappling with the full extent of the reforms, the most significant of which is the removal of the role of principal Defense Department space adviser from the secretary of the Air Force. "A lot of people focused on the fact that Mike Rogers' idea for a space corps didn't happen, and they missed that a lot of reform did go into this bill," Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the...

In order to test potential A-10 Warthog replacements in rugged conditions, the US Air Force has flown Sierra Nevada A-29 Super Tucano and Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine light attack planes from a dirt runway. The planes took off and landed on the uneven dirt airstrip located in the Melrose Air Force Range training area, a part of Cannon Air Force Base, in New Mexico. The whole event, the takeoff as well as the dusty landing, was captured and shared on YouTube by AiirSource on Wednesday, 3 January.

A man has been arrested and the National Police Air Service helicopter was dispatched to the base. The incident reportedly started at the base’s main gate. Police describe the event as “a significant incident.”

When Heather Wilson was picked to be secretary of the Air Force, she told the Senate: “Air Force policy must continue to ensure that all airmen are able to choose to practice their particular religion.” Now, she has a chance to prove it.On Wednesday, the Family Research Council’s Lt. General Jerry Boykin and Travis Weber gave Wilson 77,024 reasons to reconsider the action taken against Col. Leland Bohannon.A distinguished combat pilot, Bohannon has served his country for more than 20 years. In May, the reputation he’d built in the Air Force came crashing down when his superiors decided that the...

If you honorably served in the Air Force and Navy and live in Virginia (and were not a reservist or any other special designation) there is no license plate available to purchase. The Army and Marines have plates available but not the Air Force and Navy. Please sign the petition to make these available so we're not limited to "Armed Forces Veteran".

New Delhi -- The reach of a weapon possessed dictate the size of a nation's "area of influence". Every country also attempts to acquire technologies and weaponry to keep pace with its "area of interest" in pursuance of the larger national aim. And the effort of matching the "area of interest" with the "area of influence" is considered as balanced growth in military modernization. The great visionaries of Indian Defence Forces along with the scientific fraternity, fully supported by the Government, have constantly been making efforts to remain prepared to march ahead with the growing national ambitions. The Indian Air...

A group of prominent U.S. senators is coming to the defense of a highly decorated Air Force colonel who could be booted out of the military over his religious views on same-sex marriage. Col. Leland Bohannon, an experienced combat pilot, was suspended from command and orders were handed down recommending he not be promoted after he refused to publicly affirm the same-sex spouse of a retiring subordinate. Bohannon, who was on the verge of being promoted to a one-star general, was punished after the subordinate filed a formal Equal Opportunity complaint which was later substantiated by investigators. “His career is...

The Air Force faces many millions of dollars in potential liability for the mass shooting at a small-town church in Texas earlier this month by a former servicemember, legal experts say. “I think it’s almost inevitable that the Air Force will be sued,” said retired Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, former judge advocate general of the service. “And I think there’s a case that can be made, you bet.” If lawsuits against the Air Force were successful, said Don Christensen, the service’s former top prosecutor, the damages could be huge. “What is being shot while you’re in church, watching your baby...

The secretary of Air Force said that, after weathering a 1,500-pilot shortfall last summer, the problem has escalated to being 1,926 pilots short -- or missing 1 in 10 of a force that's supposed to have 20,000 pilots. Secretary Heather Wilson told Pentagon reporters today that "it's not just pilots, though, and air crew, when it comes to readiness." "It is spare parts and flying hours and munitions," she noted. "So increasing the readiness of the force so that we win any fight, any time, is our top priority." The biggest reason for the pilot shortage, in the secretary's...

The Air Force’s failure to report Texas church shooter Devin Kelley’s domestic violence conviction to the FBI -- a misstep that left the door open for Kelley to buy weapons -- is a systemic issue in its criminal investigations unit, according to a 2015 Pentagon analysis and a former Air Force agent who spoke to Fox News.

The Air Force Academy says racial slurs posted outside the dorm rooms of five black students were written by one of those students.

The man who police say shot and killed 26 people in a Texas church was able to purchase firearms because the Air Force failed to enter his assault conviction into a federal database, according to a report.........

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert, a status not seen since the Cold War ended in 1991 according to a report released Sunday by Defense One. “If the order comes, the B-52s will return to a ready-to-fly posture not seen since the Cold War,” reported Marcus Weisgerber, global business editor for the industry publication, noting that “long-dormant” runway areas on certain bases could once again be a home to fully loaded B-52s, ready to fly at a moment’s notice. “This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared,” Gen....

The United States Air Force could recall as many as 1,000 retired military pilots to active-duty service to address an acute shortage in its ranks. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday allowing the Air Force to call back to service up to 1,000 retired aviation officers who wish to return, the White House and the Pentagon announced.

Trump Signs Order Allowing Recall of Retired Air Force Pilots October 20, 2017 10:16 PM WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will allow the Air Force to bring back to active duty as many as 1,000 retired pilots to address a pilot shortage. A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Gary Ross, said the Air Force is short about 1,500 pilots. “The pilot supply shortage is a national-level challenge that could have adverse effects on all aspects of both the government and commercial aviation sectors for years to come,” Ross said. 25-pilot cap removed Under current...

The U.S. Army has made an urgent purchase of a specific type of 30mm cannon shells on behalf of U.S. Special Operations Command. Without the ammunition, the service said the U.S. Air Force’s AC-130W Stinger II gunships would be forced to use alternative rounds that would be unacceptably inaccurate and dangerously unreliable. In June 2017, the Army approved a plan to purchase up to 200,000 PGU-46/B 30mm cannon rounds from Orbital ATK. The service did not publicly disclose the total potential dollar value of the contract, but had to issue a so-called justification and approval document to explain why they...

U.S. Air Force officials have suspended a decorated officer and revoked his recommendation for promotion to brigadier general because he would not sign an unofficial document affirming a retiring subordinate's same-sex marriage. Col. Leland B.H. Bohannon, Air Force Inspection Agency commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M., signed all the requisite documents for a senior noncommissioned service member's May retirement ceremony except for one: a letter of "spousal appreciation" for the gay serviceman's partner. Bohannon's Christian convictions about marriage put him at odds with the request to sign the unofficial, optional letter, and he sought counsel from his...