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FAIS ISLAND, Micronesia - "Santa One-One" was late, and the chief of this tiny island in the western Pacific was concerned: Would there be no Christmas this year? No toys or school supplies? "They are coming today? You are sure?" Louis Mangtau asked. But soon, the afternoon stillness was broken by an Air Force C-130 cargo plane flying low over the palm trees. In its wake was a crate decorated in red-and-white Christmas wrapping, floating gently to earth on a military-green parachute. Strong, young men wrestled the bundle from the open field where it landed to the nearby village center....

When a veteran or member of the armed forces dies, he or she is entitled to a ceremony that includes the presentation of a U.S. flag to a family member and a bugler blowing Taps. Most of the time, there is a three-volley rifle salute if requested by family members. But now, if the deceased served in the Air Force, the three-volley salute is not an option because the Air Force can no longer support riflemen for funeral services for veteran retirees. [....] “To me, without the 21-gun salute, it just does not make it complete a proper military burial,”...

The remains of the six Americans killed by a Taliban attacker in Afghanistan Monday were due to arrive back in the U.S. on Wednesday after an emotional ceremony at Bagram Air Field. Some U.S. servicemembers kneeled in front of the victims' photos, guns and helmets. Others saluted. Service members from several units at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, pay their respects during a fallen comrade ceremony held in honor of six Airmen Dec. 23, 2015. The six Airmen lost their lives in an improvised explosive attack near Bagram Dec. 21, 2015. (DVIDS) The six soldiers, one woman and five men, died...

The American airstrike that may have killed a number of Iraqi soldiers on Friday seems to be "a mistake that involved both sides," U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Saturday. He called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to express condolences. Speaking to reporters during a visit to the USS Kearsarge in the Persian Gulf, Carter said the incident near the western Iraqi city of Fallujah was "regrettable." "These kinds of things happen when you're fighting side by side as we are," Carter said. He said the airstrike Friday "has all the indications of being a mistake of the kind that...

IRBIL, Iraq — The Air Force will allow enlisted personnel to become drone pilots for the first time to help meet demands for increased surveillance over global hot spots, according to a new policy announced Thursday. The decision, which follows months of study, is the latest Air Force effort to overhaul the growing drone program, which has struggled to recruit and retain enough officers to serve as drone pilots. Counterterrorism operations including the battle against Islamic State have created constant demand for aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR. Drone pilots say they are overworked and badly stressed. “This group...

Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp said they will continue their protest against the Air Force's selection of Northrop Grumman Corp to build a new long-range strike bomber, calling that process "irreparably flawed".

The invention of guns took warfare to a whole new level. Later, airplanes radically changed it again. Now, experts say another big shift is coming, led by energy weapons, including lasers. The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, said it's on track to demonstrate a working laser weapon on a fighter jet by 2020. "It really is a national tipping point," said Kelly Hammett, chief engineer for the AFRL's directed energy directorate. "We see the technology evolving and maturing to the stage where it really can be used." Arming larger planes with laser weapons has been possible for years....

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Operational Test Agency, in conjunction with U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. European Command, and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, successfully conducted the first intercept flight test Dec. 9, Hawaii Standard Time, of a land-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system and Standard Missile (SM)-3 Block IB Threat Upgrade guided missile, launched from the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai. During the test, a target representing a medium-range ballistic missile was air-launched from a U.S. Air Force...

Even as the Pentagon is struggling to figure out a way to afford and field its fifth-generation fighter of choice, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Navy and the U.S. Air Force—along with industry—are looking at what comes next. This sixth-generation fighter initiative is loosely known as the “F-X program” for the USAF and the “FA-XX” for the Navy. The F-X program looks to to finally replace the F-15 Eagle, as well as the F-22 Raptor, and the FA-XX program aims to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. This new aircraft will be as much about reusable weaponry (lasers) as it...

On Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's first official visit to the United States from December 7-10, Washington has signalled its willingness to co-develop with India an aircraft engine for India's indigenous fifth-generation fighter that is called the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). India's Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) believes it essential to work with US company General Electric Aviation (GE) in up-rating its F-414S6 engine into the so-called F-414 Enhanced Engine, which would power the futuristic AMCA. As Business Standard reported earlier (June 1, "Carter to face Indian demand for engine technology"), GE has been eager to partner DRDO in this lucrative...

The most advanced operational fighters of U.S., U.K., and French origin pose for the camera high over the Atlantic. The Raptors, Typhoons and Rafales, along with T-38 and F-15E aggressors and E-3 AWACS support, are taking part of the first international anti-access focused aerial exercise dubbed simply “Trilateral Exercise.” You can read all about this inaugural set of war games at the piece linked here, in the meantime, enjoy these awesome images:

Moody Air Force Base officials are not releasing the names or photographs of two missing Afghan trainees. Capt. Korey Fratini said Wednesday the decision to not release the names is a U.S. Air Force decision and not one that has been made by the base commander. "It is a matter of policy," Fratini told The Valdosta Daily Times. The Air Force has maintained a policy of not releasing the names or images of any Afghan personnel in the interest of their personal safety and the safety of their families back in Afghanistan, the captain said. Fratini said the fact the...

A decade after the Air Force Academy football team invited controversy and censure over an “I am a member of Team Jesus” banner in its locker room, the Falcons again appear to be striking a decidedly Christian pose, its members dropping to one knee and holding hands in a public pre-game prayer circle. The academy issued a statement saying it is investigating the practice after cadets and faculty brought it to the attention of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group. “The United States Air Force Academy is attentive to all religious freedom concerns, and we are conducting an...

Earlier this year, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James introduced a series of new personnel initiatives geared toward enhancing diversity, inclusiveness, and equality across the force. At the time, I offered criticism that her ideas appeared more politically expedient than substantive, and that some of what she wanted to do would require contending with various legal obstacles and regulatory challenges. I also worried aloud at the time that implementation of her initiatives, if done clumsily, could prove divisive, and that this might trigger new backlash and disharmony across a force already exhausted from a solid decade of human...

Here’s why Wild Weasel missions were among the most dangerous sorties flown in Southeast Asia. During the Vietnam War the main threat to the strike packages was the V-750 (S-75) Dvina, the first effective Soviet surface-to-air missile (SAM). Better known by the NATO designation SA-2 Guideline, the missile was developed in the mid 1950s and it was used to shoot down Gary Powers’ U-2 over the USSR in 1960 and Maj. Rudolph Anderson’s U-2 over Cuba in 1962. North Vietnam began receiving SA-2s shortly after the start of Operation Rolling Thunder and on Jul. 24, 1965, a Guideline shot down...

The Boeing B-52H is the vintage bomber that just won’t quit, and now the Cold War-era “Stratofortress” is being outfitted with one of America’s newest and longest-range conventional cruise missiles. Lockheed Martin has been put on contract to arm the 54-year-old aircraft – which has outlived many of those who predicted its retirement – with the extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Weapon (JASSM) under a $9.1 million contract announced earlier this month. In a statement to Flightglobal, LM director of long-range strike systems Jason Denney confirms that the B-52 will be updated to carry the turbofan engine-powered cruise missile internally on...

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter might not be produced in sufficient numbers to maintain the U.S. Air Force’s current operational capabilities due to budgetary constraints, according to Aerospace Daily & Defense Report. As a result the service is considering filling the capabilities gap with 72 Boeing F-15s, Lockheed-Martin F-16’s, or even Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. “F-15s and F-16s are now expected to serve until 2045, when an all-new aircraft will be ready, and plans to modernize F-16s with active electronically scanned array radars and other improvements are being revived,” the article states. U.S. Air Force officials and industry officials revealed...

MINOT Air Force Base, North Dakota -- As Air Force missions go, the prosecution of Tech. Sgt. Aaron D. Allmon II on explosive sexual-harassment charges ran into turbulence and wound up in a nosedive. Despite facing up to 130 years in prison in the early stages of the case, Sgt. Allmon was sentenced Saturday to just 30 days behind bars after a judge found him not guilty of the most devastating charges against him, including assault consummated by a battery and threats against co-workers. Judge Tiffany Wagner did find him guilty of maltreatment of two female service members and...

Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the iconic F-16 jet fighter, just completed a two-year test that simulated a staggering 92 years of normal flying for one of the single-engine planes. That’s a long time. And amazingly, the F-16 — a 1990s-vintage Block 50 version — held up just fine. “The airframe was then subjected to several maximum-load conditions to demonstrate that the airframe still had sufficient strength to operate within its full operational flight envelope,” Lockheed explained in a press release. The point of the test was to provide data for Lockheed’s coming effort to rebuild 300 or so U.S. Air...

As American involvement in the Vietnam War began, the A-1 Skyraider was still the medium attack aircraft in many carrier air wings, although it was planned to be replaced by the A-6A Intruder as part of the general switch to jet aircraft. Skyraiders from Constellation andTiconderoga participated in the first U.S. Navy strikes against North Vietnam on 5 August 1964 as part of Operation Pierce Arrow in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, striking against fuel depots at Vinh, with one Skyraider from Ticonderoga damaged by anti-aircraft fire, and a second from Constellation shot down, killing its pilot. In...