Navy photograph The E-6B Mercury’s capability to support U.S. leaders continues to expand with the latest internet protocol expansion. The upgrades to the aircraft’s secure local area computer network now allow the onboard battle staff members to operate virtually. An internet bandwidth upgrade being rolled out on the E-6B Mercury aircraft, the nationís airborne strategic…

Army photograph by Mark Cleghorn Army leaders say if sequestration, continuing resolutions and furloughs continue, equipment reset in Army depots, such as at Anniston Army Depot, Ala., could be delayed. That means that equipment will be delayed in its return to units that need it for training. Army leaders told Congress that the readiness Americans…

NASA photograph by Tom Tschida The staff of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) gathered on the ramp outside the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., to mark a milestoneóthe flying observatory’s 100th flight. The airborne observatory departed from the facility that evening on an engineering flight for the German Receiver for Astronomy…

Courtesy Photo SpaceShipTwo in flight during a previous glide test above Mojave Air & Space Port. The Scaled Composites/Virgin Galactic test program at Mojave is accelerating. April 12 there was a 10.8-minute cold flow test in which the hybrid rocket motor was tested after SS2 was released from its mother ship, the WhiteKnightTwo. Since March…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yLom8ZfvZTs Air Force graphic by Luis Jimenez DOD photograph Air view of bombs dropped by U.S. Air Force, exploding on three parallel railroad bridges across Han River, southwest of Seoul, capital of the Republic of Korea. Bridges were bombed early in war to delay advance of invading North Korean troops. A few months after the…

The Air Force’s $114.1 billion fiscal 2014 budget request will provide for the most capable airpower arm possible, the Air Force chief of staff said April 12. Testifying with Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III told the House Armed Services Committee his service’s portion of DOD’s fiscal 2014…

Courtesy photograph From 1950-1953, more than 147,000 reservists were mobilized to augment the active duty. Both the 452nd Bombardment Wing, Long Beach Municipal Airport, Calif., and the 437th Troop Carrier Wing, O’Hare International Airport, Ill., saw extensive combat service in Korea. President Harry S. Truman signed legislation on April 14, 1948, establishing the modern-day Air…

Air Force photograph by SrA. Carlin Leslie Kathleen Ferguson, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for installations, Environment and Logistics, testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction-Veteran Affairs, April 12, 2013. Fergusonís statement included topics as military construction, military family housing, environmental, energy and base realignment and closure. In testimony before the…

Boeing recently completed the first flight of the newest CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force. The March 15 flight, at the Boeing helicopter facility near Philadelphia, Penn., happened ahead of schedule and confirmed initial airworthiness for the Mk6 Chinook. “This is a truly impressive achievement for both Boeing and the…

A fully equipped soldier may carry anywhere from 50 to 120 pounds on his or her back in theater. Refinements to precision-guided parachutes may reduce that load - if the Army can just convince soldiers it can provide supplies to them as needed.