Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley has announced his plan to step down June 21 as the Air Force’s top civilian after serving for nearly five years. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve with our Air Force’s great Airmen,” Donley said. “Their accomplishments have been nothing short of impressive and I’m…

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn’s north pole. In high-resolution pictures and video, scientists see the hurricane’s eye is about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) wide, 20 times larger than the average hurricane eye on Earth. Thin, bright clouds at the outer edge of…

Air Force photograph by Maj. Ian Phillips Maj. Gen. Richard S. Haddad testifies during a hearing of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness April 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill. Active and Reserve component leaders testified to the committee about the Fiscal Year 2014 Presidentís Budget request and force readiness. The proposed budget…

ATK has successfully completed its solid rocket booster Preliminary Design Review with NASA for the new Space Launch System. The PDR milestone indicates the booster design is on track to support first flight of the SLS in 2017. The SLS vehicle will support NASA’s human spaceflight exploration to all destinations beyond low-earth orbit. “This is…

Lockheed Martin photograph by David Henry The oldest flying F-22 Raptor, tail number 4007, successfully completed its 1,000th sortie April 19. The F-22 Combined Test Force celebrated the milestone with a James Bond themed plane-side ceremony, referring to the aircraftís tail number ending in ì007.î The F-22 Combined Test Force celebrated an impressive milestone April…

Known as "The Mighty War Wagon" of the United States Air Force, the KC-135 Stratotanker has proven to be the core aerial refueling capability for the Air Force for more than 50 years.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of small meteoroids breaking into streams of rubble and crashing into Saturn’s rings. These observations make Saturn’s rings the only location besides Earth, the moon, and Jupiter where scientists and amateur astronomers have been able to observe impacts as they occur. Studying the impact rate of…

Air Force photograph by Lawrence Crespo Crew chiefs from the 57th Wing Lightning Aircraft Maintenance Unit marshal an F-35 Lighting II, March 6, 2013, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The first two aircraft will be assigned to the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron. Affordability remains the priority for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike…

Next-generation GCS successfully integrates flagship, advanced Predator platforms General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced April 24 that it has successfully demonstrated its Advanced Cockpit Ground Control Stationís capability to fly Predator C Avenger. The flight occurred Nov. 15, 2012, at the companyís Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. GAASI is a leading manufacturer…

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…