Free Republic

Bulgaria’s Defense Minister Anyu Angelov had a meeting with US Air Force Secretary Michael Donley in Washington, DC during which they discussed the possibility that Bulgaria would buy second-hand F-16s from the United States.About 4 years ago, the Bulgarian government had also inquired about the options to purchase F-16 fighting falcons. Last month, Bulgaria’s Defense Minister Angelov unofficially announced the start of a Defense Ministry project to procure new multi-purpose fighter jets. The commanders of the Bulgarian Air Force are supposed to draft a vision by the end of 2010 in which they outline their ideas for the role of...

Despite an ongoing Defense Department review of potential follow-on options for the Air Force's premiere intercontinental ballistic missile program, development of a new ICBM system will not be one of those options, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said today. While the final results and subsequent recommendations from the Minuteman III ICBM review are not due for months, the service is not ready to dedicate funding or other resources toward the development of a new nuclear missile, Donley said during a breakfast in Washington. “We have already taken steps to get [the Minuteman III] to 2020; now we are focused on...

Back to the Title 10 side of the house for a moment; the Air Force Council meets today to consider further cuts in aircraft to meet aggressive savings targets laid out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. One option on the table: early retirement of all 66 B-1B Lancer bombers (the last delivery of which came back in 1988). Force structure cuts might also extend to the air arm’s much cherished but currently under-utilized fighter force. The service already plans to early retire 250 fighters this year, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said last month; gone are 112 F-15s, 134 F-162,...

There will be no margin for error, said senior Air Force leaders at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. In years just ahead, the Air Force will maintain bare minimums of sufficiency in manpower, programs, and systems, and it will stay in that unhappy situation at least until the American economic situation improves. As a result of this, the service can no longer tolerate programmatic delays. It will cancel nonperformers and will invest mainly in new systems it considers sure things—and relevant—throughout the near- to mid-term. These were the tough messages delivered in February by top Air Force leaders at AFA’s Air...

The flying debut of Russia’s answer to the F-22 Raptor isn’t wowing Air Force leaders. Dubbed the T-50 or PAK-FA, the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet made its maiden flight Jan. 29 — 47 minutes over eastern Russia — and has flown at least twice since then. The twin-engine jet will replace the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker, both fourth-generation front-line fighters. The first operational T-50s should be delivered in 2015, the same year the Air Force expects its first F-35 Lightning II. Also a fifth-generation fighter, the F-35 has a single supersonic engine and stealth capabilities. “I didn’t see anything...

Senior Air Force officials have applied a new basing process to more than 200 sites for training and operational basing of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft. In fall 2008, Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz sought to redefine how Air Force experts make basing decisions. The new basing process was put into practice as they prepare to base up to 1,763 planes between now and 2035. "We created a process that was deliberate, repeatable and transparent with defined roles and responsibilities," said Kathleen Ferguson, deputy assistant secretary...