News
Vipers over Ukraine: What impact will F-16s have in the war with Russia?
As observers await the appearance of F-16s in the skies over Ukraine, Keith Rosenkranz, a pilot who flew 30 missions in the jet during the Gulf War, sounds a note of caution to the Ukrainian airmen who will fly them.
Bill to compensate radiation fallout victims of atom bomb tests allowed to expire
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., scuttled a bipartisan bill Friday that would have extended and expanded a unique federal program to compensate the “downwinder” radiation fallout victims of U.S. atom bomb tests.
US, allied intel agencies warn pilots to avoid Chinese recruitment
U.S. and allied intelligence agencies are warning troops of the Chinese military’s continued efforts to hire former fighter pilots to glean more information on allied tactics and techniques in combat.
Air Force
Air Force missileers get new workplace inspections, health tracking amid ongoing cancer cluster study
Missileers will soon have workplace exposures and hazards added to their records, and there will be more inspections of the underground bunkers where they work, a major reform as the service continues to investigate growing cancer concerns within the career field.
A U.S. F-16 pilot ejected after losing power in thick clouds in South Korea
An F-16 pilot ejected just seconds before his jet crashed in a fiery ball just outside Osan Air Base, South Korea after thick clouds and failed instruments left the jet in an unrecoverable dive.
First operational F-15EX arrives in Oregon; milestone for Air Guard
The first operational F-15EX Eagle II was delivered to Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon, on June 6, the first all-new weapon system to be delivered to the Air Guard before serving with the active-duty force.
B-52 crew awarded for averting in-flight catastrophe
Three airmen were preparing to land their B-52 bomber at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisianna, on Dec. 13, 2022, when the cockpit lights went out and the 185,000-pound aircraft began an uncontrolled left roll.
Deterring North Korean aggression remains primary goal, new fighter wing commander says
The new leader of a fighter wing based 220 miles from Pyongyang said deterring North Korea will remain the main mission under his tenure.
Allies square off at Ramstein in one-on-one fighter jet competition
The rumbling of dogfighting filled the skies as the U.S. Air Force took a page from the Navy’s “Top Gun” school with the first U.S.-led fighter jet exercise of its kind at Ramstein.
Space Force
Why the Space Force wants to ‘flip the script’ on space domain awareness
The Space Force wants to “pivot” and change how it does space domain awareness with a new generation of capabilities, and it wants industry to take a leading role in shaping that future, a top official said this week.
Defense
Israel’s IAI rolls out Air Lora, a new air-launched ballistic missile
Ari Maman, a Business Development Executive at IAI told Breaking Defense that the company developed the Air Lora because “we see a big market for this product.”
Veteran
A World War II veteran just married his bride near Normandy’s D-Day beaches — he’s 100, she’s 96
Together, the collective age of the bride and groom was nearly 200. But World War II veteran Harold Terens and his sweetheart Jeanne Swerlin proved that love is eternal as they tied the knot Saturday inland of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France.
Former astronaut William Anders, who took iconic Earthrise photo, killed in Washington plane crash
William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.
West Los Angeles VA starts work on new veteran housing
Two housing projects set aside for veterans officially got underway at the end of May. On May 31 two separate buildings that would add 87 new housing units on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus broke ground, part of a wider plan to add more than 1,000 new homes for veterans.
FDA Advisory Committee voted against MDMA therapy, what’s next?
A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended against the use of midomafetamine (MDMA) in conjunction with therapy, which has gained momentum in the veteran community.
Democratic lawmaker lambastes omnibus bill as ‘harmful’ attempt to privatize veterans health care
An omnibus bill to increase community services for disabled and aging veterans and their caretakers was attacked by the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee as a thinly veiled attempt to privatize health services and drain dollars from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
