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Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a congressional panel Tuesday he’ll decide in the next week whether the Air Force or senior Pentagon officials will pick the winner of the controversial competition to build new midair refueling tankers. The decision is expected to spark renewed political wrangling between congressional supporters of Boeing and the team of Northrop Grumman and EADS North America, competitors who have fought for months over a contract worth more than $35 billion. Gates told Senate defense appropriators that he’ll make his decision in the next seven to 10 days. “Part of the process I’m going through right...

6/5/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- NASA officials are inviting people to make their voice heard as a panel of experts undertakes an independent review of planned U.S. human space flight activities. They have created a Web site for the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee to facilitate a two-way conversation with the public about the future direction of the agency's space flight programs. In addition to providing documents and information, the site will allow people to track committee activities, receive regular updates and provide input through Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter, Flickr, user-submitted questions, polls and RSS...

Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Myers had only one wish while in the desert sands of Iraq: Get home before the end of his daughter's fourth-grade year. It almost didn't happen. Almost. On Thursday, the next-to-last day of class at Randolph Elementary School, the airman's wish came true. An emotional Myers, still dressed in his brown-and-tan fatigues, surprised his daughter in her class, returning from a year in Iraq nine days before his tour ended. Hannah Eschrig's jaw dropped and she began crying as her father lifted her into an embrace. Several minutes passed as the hug continued before Hannah...

It has been a long haul to the launch pad, but the U.S. Air Force and Boeing are gearing up to loft the X-37B – an unpiloted military space plane, SPACE.com has learned. Tucked inside the shroud of an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), the winged craft will be boosted out of Cape Canaveral, Fla., orbit the Earth and then make an auto-pilot landing in California.

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2009 NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Daniel Ginsberg, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, vice Craig W. Duehring. Louis B. Susman, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Air Force is moving forward with yet another Request for Proposal (RFP) to replace the ever-aging KC-135 aerial refueling tanker. The Pentagon has been in the process of replacing the tanker since 2001. These aircraft are 50 years old on average and are showing the strain of their age. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has declared it a strategic priority to modernize these tankers for a new century's threats. Yet, eight years later, a new tanker has not been built, and the acquisition process is mired in Washington politics. Our potential adversaries are watching while we debate and delay....

A month ago, Ava Tamosuinas of Wayzata faced a tough choice. The 18-year-old senior at Providence Academy, a private Catholic prep school in Plymouth, had won a full Naval ROTC scholarship to the University of Southern California. Aside from being located in a place where it's 70 sunny degrees most of the year, USC is the alma mater of her father, Darrell. But Ava also had received an appointment to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., which offered its own enticements, including state-of-the-art facilities, the stunning Rocky Mountains and the chance to follow the path of Amanda and...

A retired Air Force colonel with decades of experience as a flight instructor gave one of his students a hands-on lesson in a key principle of flying: Don't run out of gas. Al Uhalt of Colorado Springs made a bumpy but safe landing in a field Thursday when the single-engine Aviat Husky he and a student were flying ran out of fuel near the end of a 45-minute lesson. Neither Uhalt nor the student, 16-year-old Kyle Sundman, was injured and the plane was undamaged.

NEW DELHI, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - The first Russian-made A-50 Mainstay AWACS aircraft developed on the basis of Il-76MD military transport plane officially entered service on Thursday with the Indian Air Force (IAF). India ordered three A-50EI variants fitted with Israeli-made Phalcon radar systems in 2001. The first aircraft was scheduled to arrive in 2007-08 but has been subject to delays. "Today we became one of the few chosen countries to possess this kind of plane [AWACS]," IAF commander, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said at the commissioning ceremony. According to some sources, the second of the A-50EI...

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2009 – In developments this month, the Iraqi air force graduated its first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircrew members and dedicated three new buildings that will increase its capabilities. The first class of Iraqi Air Force Squadron 87 King Air ISR aircrew members completed their year-long training, which culminated with a graduation ceremony at New Al Muthana Air Base May 17. The Iraqi King Air program, headed up by U.S. Air Force and Navy aircrew instructors, has trained four Iraqi pilots, seven co-pilots and five mission sensor operators. “We are about at the halfway point where we...

5/22/2009 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An Air Force test pilot student died yesterday when his jet trainer crashed north of Edwards Air Force Base. Captain Mark P. Graziano, 30, died when the T-38A he was piloting crashed approximately nine miles north of Edwards AFB, near California City. Graziano was assigned to the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards, where he was undergoing training to become a test pilot. His crew member, Major Lee V. Jones, was injured upon ejecting from the aircraft. He was transported to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, where he is listed in stable...

China bigger threat than Pakistan, says IAF chief 24 May 2009, NEW DELHI: India faces a greater threat from China than Pakistan because New Delhi knows little about Beijing's combat capabilities, India's air force chief told a newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. The world's two most populous nations fought a brief but brutal war over their 3,500 km (2,200 mile) Himalayan border in 1962, and both sides claim the other is occupying big but largely uninhabited chunks of their territory. India has also been pursuing closer relations with the United States, something that worries China. China has a...

But they are not taken alone. They are taken together — 148,000 names, representing the entire veteran population of Riverside National Cemetery, a roll call of the dead read aloud over 10 days by more than 300 volunteers.

CALIFORNIA CITY, California — A military jet on a training mission crashed north of Edwards Air Force base in the desert on Thursday, authorities said. The fate of the two crew members aboard was not immediately known. The T-38 Talon went down at 1:15 p.m. nine miles north of the base, Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes said in a statement. Base officials had no immediate information on the cause of the crash. It was the second crash of an aircraft from Edwards in less than two months. On March 25, an Air Force F-22A Raptor went down about 35 miles...

May 20, 2009 (by Asif Shamim) - Hill AFB could loose one-third of its F-16s after the air force announced it plans to remove 250 aircraft from its fleet in a accelerated retirement program according to the Standard Examiner.

Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany would lose 18 F-16s and possibly one of its three fighter squadrons in a plan the Air Force announced Tuesday to eliminate about 250 fighter jets from its inventory.

A PENTAGON official formerly of the US Air Force has been charged with conspiracy to pass classified information to an agent of China, the US Justice Department said. A criminal complaint said today that retired Lieutenant Colonel James Wilbur Fondren, a deputy director of the US Pacific Command's Washington Liaison Office, "unlawfully and knowingly conspired" to communicate secrets.

KOMSOMOLSK-ON-AMUR, May 11 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian deputy prime minister said Monday that flight tests of a fifth-generation fighter will start in Russia by the end of 2009. "By the end of this year, the plane will rise into the air and flight tests will begin," Sergei Ivanov told journalists after a shipbuilding meeting in the Far East, adding that serial production will start in 2010. Russia's advanced multirole fighter is being developed by the Sukhoi aircraft maker, part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), along with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), under a preliminary intergovernmental agreement signed in...

May 11, 2009: The U.S. has purchased two Su-27 fighters from Ukraine. They were delivered in a Ukrainian An-24 transport. The Su-27s will be used to help train American pilots to cope with the growing number of Su-27 and Su-30 fighters being sold to air forces the world over. The two Su-27s will also be used to test the effectiveness of new U.S. radars and electronic warfare equipment. Russia's Sukhoi aircraft company has sold over a billion dollars worth of these aircraft (plus components and technical services for them) a year for the last few years. Sukhoi mainly supplies Su-27/30...

MOSCOW, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - A pair of Russian Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers have carried out a routine patrol flight over the North Atlantic and the Arctic, an Air Force spokesman said on Thursday. "The crews practiced instrumental flight maneuvers and conducted a series of other drills," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik told RIA Novosti. During a 15-hour mission, the bombers conducted in-flight refueling from Il-78 Midas aerial tankers. The Russian planes were shadowed by NATO F-16 and Tornado fighters. Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans in August 2007, following an order signed...

The history of Russia’s renowned Tu-95 strategic bombers began at the end of the 1940s, when Soviet aerospace engineer Andrei Tupolev and his team were asked to design a bomber that could be capable of flying from the USSR to the United States and back. Tupolev’s Design Bureau (known in Russia as OKB-156) put forward a suggestion to equip the new aircraft with jet-prop engines that were much more efficient and economizing in comparison with jet engines. Tupolev’s Design Bureau started the construction of the new strategic intercontinental bomber aircraft in the beginning of the 1950s. The first test flight...

The development of the fifth-generation jet fighter is one of the most widely discussed issues in Russia's military. What's more, with its potential involvement in developing the jet fighter, India, one of Russia's long-standing partners in military technical cooperation, confirms its interest in Russia's future project. The new jet fighter is being developed under the PAK FA (Prospective (promising) Aircraft System of the Frontline Aviation) program to replace fourth-generation models now in service in Russian and Indian air forces. The Soviet Union launched fifth-generation fighter programs in the 1980s. By the mid-1990s, the Mikoyan Design Bureau developed the Project 1.44...

  Windows 7 might be getting all the attention lately, but Windows XP is having a quiet little renaissance of its own -- not only have sales of the venerable OS been extended until 2010, Microsoft is selling an ultra-secure version to the Air Force. The custom build ships with over 600 settings bolted down, and a security patch turnaround of just 72 hours compared to the standard edition's 57 days -- all because Steve Ballmer personally stepped in and approved the project at the Air Force's request. The effort's to standardize and preconfigure the OS has paid off:...

DEBKAfile's Iranian and intelligence sources disclose that Moscow warned Tehran Friday April 17 that Israel was planning to destroy all 140 fighter-bombers concentrated at the Mehr-Abad Air Force base for an air show over Tehran on Iran's Army Day the following day. The entire fleet was accordingly removed to remote bases and the display cancelled. In the first week of April, Tehran announced it would stage its biggest air show ever to dramatize a ceremonial military parade in the capital on April 18. Iran would show the world that it is capable of fighting off an Israeli attack on its...

The impending fighter shortfall in the U.S. Air Force may prompt the Pentagon to turn to the Navy to fulfill some air sovereignty missions – flying patrols in U.S. airspace – in the future, according to Defense Department officials. The Air Force is facing the retirement of up to 80% of the fleet dedicated to conducing the air sovereignty mission in the United States without timely replacements expected, according to testimony offered at a House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing April 22. Of 16 Air National Guard units on alert status, 11 fly F-16s. The aircraft of eight of those...

The U.S. Air Force is seeking to radically change how it maintains its aircraft, in an effort to increase the number available for combat. Of particular concern are the maintenance problems with the B-1B and B-2 heavy bombers. Last year, for example, an average of 54 percent of the 67 B-1B bombers were out of action for maintenance issues. An average of only 42 percent were available for action. All the larger aircraft, especially the C-130 transports, are having problems getting maintenance problems fixed quickly.

....[T]here are three major changes [Robert] Gates should add to his agenda, and they deserve President Obama’s support. First, the Air Force should be eliminated, and its personnel and equipment integrated into the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Second, the archaic “up or out” military promotion system should be scrapped in favor of a plan that treats service members as real assets. Third, the United States needs a national service program for all young men and women, without any deferments, to increase the quality and size of the pool from which troops are drawn. SNIP ....While Army, Marine and Navy...

Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be back at Maxwell. As you may know, this week I am visiting each of the service war colleges to discuss the budget recommendations I made to the President. Those recommendations have three principal objectives: · First, to reaffirm our commitment to take care of the all-volunteer force, which, in my view represents America’s greatest strategic asset; as Admiral Mullen says, if we don’t get the people part of our business right, no other decisions will matter; · Second, to rebalance this department’s programs in order to institutionalize and enhance our capabilities to fight...

In his farewell address in January 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex, the cozy relationship between the Pentagon, Congress and defense contractors. In April 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposes to do something significant about it. He wants Congress to cut big-ticket items from all the major services: the Air Force's F-22 fighter, the Army's family of Future Combat Systems and the Navy's DDG 1000 destroyer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf2K4-BQYAI

BRUSSELS, Belgium - An icon of the Cold War, the MiG-21 came to symbolize the military might of the Soviet Union as it squared off against the West in conflicts from Vietnam to Africa and the Middle East. Now, exactly 50 years after it entered service, the jet fighter is approaching the twilight of its career in frontline service - with NATO, the former Soviet Union's main rival. Capture the Season's Best Memories Get a free Sony Cybershot 10MP camera and Sony 9" Digital Picture Frame! ElectronicsSource.us.com LATEST NEWS No need to move Lenin from Red Square - Kremlin official...

ATLANTA -- A commander at Hill Air Force Base was killed Sunday in Atlanta on his way to the airport. Col. Stephen Mittuch, commander of the 419th Maintenance Group, was in Atlanta for an Air Force Conference. Col. Mittuch was traveling south on Interstate 75 toward Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in a taxi about 6 a.m. when a car going the wrong way hit Col. Mittuch's taxi. The Georgia State Patrol believes alcohol was involved. The cab driver and the driver of the other vehicle survived and were taken to the hospital. Both are in stable condition. Col. Mittuch joined...

Penn State apparently felt the need to put out a how-to video for dealing with scary, violent, and confrontational war veterans. It's time to puke in your hats, people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLq9NPLv0M

With "JAG," "Navy CIS," "MASH," and other military television shows being quite popular, one might consider with how military service has enhanced the fame of veteran actors in Hollywood or vice versa. During our distinguished history, some Hollywood actors have taken a break from their careers while they defended our country oftentimes to battle in war. These hereos include Charles Bronson, Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Clarke Gable, Lee Marvin, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Stewart. More recent editions of entertainment veterans include "Limp Bizkit" lead singer Fred Durst who did service with the United States Navy. Up until...

Newt Gingrich, a Republican, served in the House from Georgia from 1978 and as House Minority Whip in 1989. He was Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999. During that time he never made use of military air craft. Nancy Pelosi, Democrat from California, current Speaker of the House. The Pentagon provides the House speaker with an Air Force plane large enough to accommodate her staff, family, supporters, and members of the California delegation when she travels around the country. But, Pelosi wants routine access to a larger plane. It includes 42 business class seats, a fully-enclosed state room,...

BOSSIER CITY — Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana has been selected to house the Air Force's new Global Strike Command, a decision that will create some 900 jobs in a state still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The Air Force notified lawmakers of the decision Thursday and were expected to make a public announcement in the afternoon. "It's extremely important," said Rep. John Fleming, R-La. "This will mean temporary jobs to begin with, contract and construction, and then as many as 1,000 long-term jobs in personnel." Air Force leaders created the new Strike Command to better manage the nation's nuclear...

An F-22A Raptor jet -- the newest fighter in the Air Force inventory -- crashed during a test flight north of Edwards Air Force Base in California yesterday, killing the pilot, according to official statements.

LONDON [MENL] -- Iran has been developing an air defense network that could defend against a U.S. attack, a report said. A report by a leading defense researcher said Iran was assembling a Russian-origin air defense umbrella that could defeat attacks by the most modern Western aircraft. The report, "Surviving the Modern Integrated Air defence System," said Iran has employed IADS technology that could cause huge losses in any U.S. air campaign.

CNN reports the Air Force has said a C-17 aircraft has crashed in southern Archer County. The network said the plane was carrying military personnel. ...

An Air Force C-17 plane crashed Monday near Olney, Texas, a spokesman for Sheppard Air Force Base said.

Fighter and attack aircraft are aging faster than they can be replaced. The way out of this crisis has been blocked by the cut in F-22 Raptor production and budget-driven delays in production of the F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). As a result, the service is trying to figure out how to do what it has never done: accept into its aircraft mix a large number of less-capable legacy forces.

MOSCOW, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Air Force has launched a four-day exercise near the city of Vorkuta, north of the Arctic Circle, a spokesman said on Thursday. Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers were test launching cruise missiles and dropping precision guided bombs at the Pemboi test range. He did not say what types of missiles were involved, but a Russian deputy defense minister previously said a new long-range missile would soon enter service with the Air Force. The launches are part of a command-and-staff exercises supervised by Maj. Gen. Pavel...

WASHINGTON -- The next Air Force spy craft is likely to be a giant, unmanned dirigible that can remain aloft at high altitudes, keeping an unblinking watch on vehicles, planes and even people. The dirigible is the brainchild of the Air Force and the Pentagon's research arm, which together will spend $400 million to develop a prototype that could pave the way for a fleet of spy airships, military officials said Thursday. The plans represent the final stage of work to develop agiant airborne radar system capable of providing ground operators with intricate detail over vast expanses, even if the...

Serve your country best by serving God first, Archbishop Chaput tells USAF cadets Air Force Academy Chapel/ Archbishop Charles Chaput Colorado Springs, Colo., Mar 10, 2009 / 10:11 pm (CNA).- Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput addressed Catholic cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Monday, telling them the military profession is “honorable” and urging them to become virtuous leaders who serve their country best by serving God first.The archbishop discussed war, the nature of obedience, and the need to recognize that people matter more than things.Referring to Homer, W.B. Yeats and Robert E. Lee’s comments...

Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner's story is one of heroism in battle. On April 6, 2008, Rhyner and his team were participating in an assault on Shok Valley in northeastern Afghanistan.

Should a Soldier serve if he doesn't believe the president is legitimate? Yes, a Soldier takes an oath to serve the nation and President Obama was duly elected. 1st Lt. Easterling is just trying to get publicity and he should be court martialed. If a Soldier in good conscience does not believe the president is constitutionally eligible to serve, he should not execute his duties and is right to protest the president's orders. Easterling should continue to honor the dignity of his men by executing his orders as given. He should pursue other avenues to challenge the legitimacy of the...

The Australian think-tank, Air Power Australia (APA), has released another in their series of techno-strategy papers, this time analysing the advancements in Russian-built Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS) (http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-2009-02.html), and what it means in global strategic terms for the Americans. The APA report is direct and unequivocal – Russian radar and missiles have improved to the point where the US fleet of F-15s, F-16s and F/A-18s, as well as the planned Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), are not capable of surviving against these systems and unless the Americans build another four hundred-plus F-22s, they will lose the strategic advantage they have...

Lest anyone doubt the significance that veterans and the armed forces place upon the medals they earn, for the second time in as many weeks a local veteran will receive recognition for bravery in wars decades ago. Thursday is 87-year-old Joseph Moser's turn. The Whatcom County resident will receive the Distinguished Flying Cross at McChord Air Force Base on Thursday for his actions 65 years ago over Germany. Photo by Gabriel Rodriguez Joe Moser in 2008 Moser, originally a farm kid from Ferndale, on July 30, 1944 -- more than three weeks after the Normandy invasion -- earned the award...

AP's headline is "Cousins plead guilty in plot to kill US soldiers." But of course they didn't get involved in this plot because they were cousins. The Department of Homeland Security doesn't need to begin a Global War On Cousins. They did this because they wanted to wage jihad. They met the jihad recruiter at a Muslim convention. They were clearly inspired by Islamic teachings regarding the necessity to wage war against unbelievers. But since none of that is suitable for an AP headline, we get...cousins. An update on this story. "Cousins plead guilty in plot to kill US soldiers,"...

Here is a great way to honor your C.O., family member or friend that has or is serving in the military. Get their story in our next book on leadership! As many of you know, Aloha Ronnie (http://www.moderndayheroes.com/aloha) was a contributing author in our wildly successful book, Modern Day Heroes: In Defense of America. Now we need your stories from the front lines! You don't have to put pen to paper at all to get the story of someone you respect and love in front of the American people. You don't have to spend money on an ad or even...