News
Air Combat Command boss makes the case for uniform, ops inspections
The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t just show up and win this year’s Super Bowl. Tough practice sessions, hard work and coaching were required to win the game. That’s how Air Combat Command boss Gen. Kenneth Wilbach expects his airmen to gear up for their own potential fight — not on the gridiron, but across the Pacific.
F-16s to be ‘flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer,’ US says
More than two years into the full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine is closer than ever to its coveted F-16 jets.
US Navy’s TW-2 celebrates 1 million flight hours with T-45 Goshawk
Naval Air Station Kingsville’s Training Air Wing 2 (TW-2) recently reached a major milestone with its McDonnell Douglas / Boeing T-45C Goshawk fleet — 1,000,000 flight hours. And that’s not including hours flown by other squadrons of the jets.
Engineer charged with obstructing probe into deadly 2017 Marine crash
A former United States Air Force engineer was charged for making false statements and obstructing justice during a criminal investigation into a 2017 Marine Corps Reserve plane crash that killed 15 Marines and one Navy corpsman.
Air Force
McConnell-based KC-46 completes round-the-world flight in 45 hours
Air Force Col. Brent Toth needed to stay awake into the wee morning hours as he prepared for an upcoming marathon mission that would usher him and a crew around the world in less than 48 hours.
Okinawa protests parachute training while US works on alternative site
The U.S. military has reportedly started preliminary work to repair an auxiliary airfield runway that figures in a dispute between the U.S. military and Okinawa prefecture over parachute training at Kadena Air Base.
Lucky strike: The F-15E that downed a helo with a bomb just hit 15,000 flight hours
One year, eight months, two weeks, two days, 16 hours. That is how much time F-15E tail number #89-0487 has spent in flight since it first entered service in 1989. The 35-year-old fighter jet logged its 15,000th flight hour in May during a combat sortie while deployed to the Middle East, according to a press release published July 9.
New commander at air base in northern Japan is ‘perfect fit’, USFJ commander says
Misawa Air Base, home to two squadrons of F-16 Fighting Falcons, welcomed a new commander Monday who’s no stranger to the base in northern Japan.
Wilsbach: Air Force should keep the block 20 F-22s it asked to retire
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, head of Air Combat Command, came out in favor of retaining 32 Block 20 F-22 fighters, despite the fact that the Air Force has sought to retire the older jets in its last three budgets.
ACC chief expects NGAD down select this year, ‘hopeful’ F-35 deliveries will resume this month
Despite recent mixed messages from Air Force leadership about the fate of a planned sixth-generation fighter, the head of the service’s Air Combat Command (ACC) still expects a winning contractor to be named this year.
Air Force C3/BM czar, ICBM modernization boss nominated to be major generals
Nearly 20 Air Force brigadier generals have been nominated to pin on second stars, the Pentagon announced July 10, including the service’s acquisition czar for C3 and battle management and the head of a new office created to oversee the modernization of the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missile fleet.
Veterans
Veterans group hits goal of recruiting 100,000 election workers
When voters head to the polls to cast their ballots this November, at least one out of every 10 election workers they see will be a veteran or a family member of a veteran, said Ellen Gustafson, the co-founder of a nonprofit that recruits military-connected individuals to volunteer at polling places.
Disabled veterans to Congress: Move out on stalled bill to allow payment of both retirement and disability benefits
Veterans with combat-related injuries rallied near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to finally act on a long-stalled proposal to allow all veterans full access to military retirement pay and Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits.
Lawmakers, veterans urge FDA to approve ecstasy for treating PTSD in clinical settings
Medically retired with post-traumatic stress disorder, Jonathan Lubecky, a Marine Corps and Army veteran, said the anti-depressants and other prescribed medication that he took for his illness did little to ease his nightmares, flashbacks and thoughts of suicide.
Culture
Daughters of missing Vietnam War pilots lead charge to update MIA monument
The daughters of two Air Force pilots who went missing during the Vietnam War are spearheading an effort to properly designate the status of names on the Courts of the Missing monument in Honolulu.
Defense
Air Force still expects to award NGAD contract in 2024 despite uncertainties — ACC commander
Even with recent rumors that the Air Force is considering a delay or cancellation of its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform, the service still plans to award a contract for the stealth fighter jet in 2024, according to the head of Air Combat Command.
Saudi Arabia orders 4 more A330MRTT aircraft from Airbus
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed off on a deal with Airbus for four additional A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) planes to support air-to-air refuelling and transport operations.
