NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • Aircraft airflow tested in Nebraska to reduce COVID-19 spread

    Active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard components from AMC, in coordination with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, worked April 4-11 at the 155th Air Refueling Wing examining airflow and particles to assess ways to prevent the spread of the

  • 459th Airlift Squadron: a life-saving evacuation team

    For the pilots of the C-12J Huron assigned to Yokota AB’s very own 459th Airlift Squadron, this delivery of hope is just a perk of the job – providing aeromedical evacuation to the individuals that need it.

  • Jolly Green II taken to extremes

    The Air Force’s newest combat search and rescue helicopter and crews experienced temperature extremes from 120 to minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit as well as torrential rain during the month of testing.

  • Air Force, Boeing agree on final KC-46 RVS 2.0 design

    RVS 2.0 will include 4K color cameras with proper viewing geometry, operator stations with larger screens, a laser ranger for refueling aircraft distance measurement and boom assistance augmented reality. With the help of scientists and engineers from both enterprises, the Air Force will lead design

  • AFLCMC delivers C-37B early

    The program, managed by the Presidential and Executive Airlift Division, delivered the aircraft one week ahead of schedule.

  • Scheduling training is about to get easier for C-17 crews

    The digital interface, which will start using live data March 20, enables planners to visualize flight schedules and generates recommended schedules for each crew member while taking into consideration required qualifications, crew rest and conflicting events.

  • AWACS test rapid deployment capability at Prince Sultan Air Base

    In the early 2000s, the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (Sentry) was a mainstay at PSAB. Its ability to provide tactical control of all aircraft was vital to successful accomplishment of the operations such as Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and the start of Iraqi Freedom.

  • Behind the helmet of the F-35A Demonstration Team’s newest pilot

    As the pilot and demonstration team commander, Wolfe will fly the demonstration routine for two years, serving as a role model and inspiration to those that are interested in pursuing military service or a career in aviation. Part of her and her team’s mission will be helping young men and women

  • Grey Wolf begins testing

    The Air Force’s newest helicopter, the MH-139A Grey Wolf, completed its first combined test flight, Feb. 11.

  • HH-60W enters soundproof chamber for defense systems testing

    Testing the HH-60W in J-PRIMES will characterize the performance of the helicopter’s systems before electronic warfare flight-testing. The tests ensure it is capable of defeating hostile threats while performing its designated combat search and rescue mission.

  • F-16 downs drone during cruise missile defense testing

    The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron shot down a subscale drone using an AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System laser-guided rocket Dec. 19, providing a proof of concept for using rockets queued from an F-16 Fighting Falcon targeting pod as viable munitions to perform cruise missile defense.

  • KC-46A Pegasus completes first around-the-world flight

    The first global circumnavigation for the KC-46A Pegasus provided extensive training opportunities for maintainers and aircrew at multiple locations on a seven-leg, 13-day journey that included its debut at the 2019 Dubai Air Show, or DAS. The first global circumnavigation for the KC-46A Pegasus

  • Air Force names newest helicopter ‘Grey Wolf’

    The Grey Wolf is the command's first major acquisition in its 10-year history. The name Grey Wolf is derived from the wild species that roams the northern tier of North America, which also encompasses the intercontinental ballistic missile bases in AFGSC.

  • Air Force requests proposals for light attack aircraft

    The Air Force plans to purchase two to three light attack aircraft from each manufacturer to help support the National Defense Strategy’s focus on building allies and partner capacity, capability and interoperability via training and experimentation.

  • Air Force Academy launches new Airmanship Next program

    Launched at the start of the fall semester, Airmanship Next augments live-flight at the airfield with virtual reality training to reach cadets who may have been excluded in the past by scheduling conflicts and infuses more aviation training into the four-year cadet developmental model.

  • Air Force stands up new Advanced Aircraft PEO

    The new office was created to transform the Next Generation Air Dominance program into the Air Force’s Digital Century Series initiative, using digital engineering, modular open systems architecture, and agile software development to design advanced airplanes faster and enter production with a

  • Acting SecAF Donovan announces B-21 manufacturing, testing locations

    While speaking at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Donovan remarked on the Air Force’s B-21 program noting, “the development of the B-21 Raider is on schedule and the first test aircraft is under production at the same production facility in Palmdale, California, as its

  • Hurricane Hunters fly Hurricane Dorian

    Due to a lack of radar and weather balloons availability over the Atlantic Ocean, the 53rd WRS flies into the storms, gathers the data and provides this data to the NHC to assist with their forecasts and storm warnings by transmitting the information gathered via satellite communication

  • AMC C-130 rainbow fitting inspections complete

    Thanks to early detection by Air Force Materiel Command aircraft maintenance and engineering professionals and quick implementation of a fleet-wide time compliance technical order, C-130 maintainers have inspected and verified the viability of 113 of the 123 affected aircrafts’ lower center wing

  • Air traffic control: Keeping the skies safe

    Similar to other careers, on-the-job training for air traffic controllers is a must in order to ensure agile combat airlift is delivered anywhere and anytime. Airmen assigned to this unit learn alongside a fully qualified and experienced trainer, so there is no room for error when it comes to

  • Agile Lightning demonstrates nimble operations

    Adaptive basing exercises require all levels of the squadron to deploy small teams of Airmen and aircraft for a short amount of time to hone their skills. This was the first adaptive basing methodology exercise for the F-35A in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

  • How pilot training has changed over the years

    With senior leadership making innovation a priority, the Air Force has changed how Airmen are trained and how they become proficient at their jobs. This in turn has changed the way the Air Force develops pilots and what pilot training currently looks like.

  • Record-setting first sortie for wing's newest F-35A

    Aircraft tail number 5261 left Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, production facility a little after 8 a.m. Aug. 1, landed at Hill Air Force Base at 10 a.m., and by 3 p.m. had taken off on its first combat training mission.

  • Eglin AFB pilots receive ratings for new helicopter

    Maj. Zach Roycroft and Tony Arrington completed the five-week contracted course on the civilian counterpart to the Air Force’s new MH-139 helicopter. The helicopter will replace the Air Force’s aging UH-1N Huey.

  • 349th ARS secures Air Force-level award

    The Senior Master Sgt. Albert Evans Outstanding Air Refueling Section Award is presented every year to the top boom operator section in the Air Force. This is the first time the 349th ARS has won the award.

  • Vt. ANG prepares for F-35 arrival

    The partnership between the 158th FW consists of the visiting staff from BAE Systems, Inc., Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney aerospace company who are assisting members through the technical phases of induction.

  • Donovan visits B-21, X-37B facilities, L3 Harris Technologies

    Acting Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan visited Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Design and Development Headquarters and the Kennedy Space Center to review the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Processing Facility, as well as the newly merged L3 Harris Technologies, Inc.

  • 509th MXS propulsion flight Airmen boost readiness to 18-year high

    The 509th Maintenance Squadron Propulsion Flight has achieved the highest engine readiness rate across the active-duty Air Force. 40 jet engine mechanics operate out of a repair center on base, ensuring the readiness of Whiteman Air Force Base’s 44 billion dollar fleet of B-2 Spirits.

  • 380th AEW AWACS provide the big picture to combatant commanders

    Staff Sgt. Joshua Payne, 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron senior surveillance technician, works within a crew that regularly reaches more than 20, each having their own specific purpose on a very technical level. Their role is to help the pilot expand this limited scope of data, and

  • Hill AFB Airmen expand F-35A combat capability in Rapid Forge

    The goal is to expand the Air Force’s adaptive or agile basing ability, a concept in which aircraft operate from forward, temporary, sometimes contested locations. The ability to land, refuel and rearm at forward airfields gives commanders more flexibility to strike and limits enemies’ ability to

  • Final AC-130U Spooky returns from combat deployment

    While still on alert to respond to contingencies as needed for the next few months, the Spooky is being replaced downrange by the AC-130J Ghostrider, the most lethal and innovative gunship in the world.

  • Whiteman AFB commemorates 30-year anniversary of B-2 test flight

    For three decades, B-2 crews have participated in five major military operations and countless training engagements. The bomber has completed missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and, most recently, Libya. The B-2 was also the first aircraft over Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, for which

  • Gunfighters use 1950s tech on F-35 for a huge win

    Airmen from the 366th Logistics Readiness Squadron, also known as Gunfighters, are the first in the Air Force to perform hot-pit refueling on F-35 Lightning II’s with a Type 1 hydrant system from the 1950s and hose cart from the 1970s.

  • 815th Airlift Squadron delivers during Swift Response '19

    For exercise Swift Response '19, military members across two continents work as a team to conduct training to increase the participating nations’ readiness, capabilities and capacity to conduct full-spectrum military operations. They use combined training which fosters trust, increases

  • Misawa Block-50 F-16 hits 10K hours, an AF first

    One of Misawa Air Base’s most famous flight line assets hit a historic milestone June 10 as a 29-year-old Block-50 F-16 Fighting Falcon, tail number 808 affectionately known as “BOB,” reached 10,000 flight hours during a sortie flown across Japan.

  • AFRL XQ-58A UAV completes second successful flight

    The Air Force Research Laboratory developed a low-cost unmanned air vehicle together with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. The joint effort falls within AFRL’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology portfolio, which has the goal to break the escalating cost trajectory of tactically

  • Agile BOLT maintainers support F-35 deployment

    These Blended Operational Lightning Technician or BOLT maintainers are currently deployed alongside the 421st Fighter Squadron during a Theater Security Package to Europe and they’ve sent the first 388th Fighter Wing maintainer to ever be qualified in six different aspects of F-35 maintenance.

  • Reserve Airmen hunt hurricanes

    This specialized unit of Reserve Airmen is made up of a five-person crew consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, aerial reconnaissance weather officer and loadmaster who is also the dropsonde operator.

  • Exercise Northern Edge 2019 comes to a close

    The fully integrated, large-scale exercise provided realistic and comprehensive joint training opportunities in and around Alaskan land and airspace, as well as in and above the Gulf of Alaska. NE19 participants trained on defensive counter-air, close-air support and air interdiction of maritime

  • Reserve & Active Airmen team up at Palmetto Challenge

    Airmen trained on “real world” scenarios that could happen in a deployed environment when provided limited resources. For exercise purposes, there were two “deployed” locations, one at Pope AAF and the other at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina.

  • AFMC team receives prestigious award for life-saving aircraft technology

    The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, or Auto-GCAS, team won the 2018 Robert J. Collier Trophy, an award bestowed annually by the National Aeronautic Association that recognizes “the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance,

  • Hill AFB F-35s, Airmen deploy to Europe as part of Theater Security Package

    Funded through the European Deterrence Initiative, the TSP provides a more robust U.S. military rotational presence in the European theater capable of deterring adversaries and assuring partners and allies of U.S. commitment to regional security. The F-35s and members of the 421st and 466th Fighter

  • Airmen come together for Combat Archer exercise

    The Combat Archer exercise, also known as the Weapons Systems Evaluation Program, is the Department of Defense’s largest air-to-air live-fire evaluation exercise. Squadron leaders monitor the lifespan of a missile to assess execution performance by maintenance crew members, aircraft armament systems

  • Wise Guy back in the sky

    A team of Reserve Citizen Airmen and active duty maintainers spent four months prepping Wise Guy, a B-52 Stratofortress for flight. The bomber had been at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group since 2008.

  • Air Force’s top recruiter climbs even higher

    Master Sgt. Gervacio Maldonado, a former Health Professions recruiter and now flight chief with the 318th Recruiting Squadron, was surprised and ecstatic when he learned winning the 2018 Maj. Gen. A.J. Stewart Top AFRS Recruiter award would take him even higher.

  • Air Force to reactivate aggressor squadron for F-35 training

    The action came after Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Combat Command commander, recommended training for fifth generation fighter tactics development and close-air support would be improved by adding F-35s to complement the fourth generation aircraft currently being used.

  • Thunderbird performance dazzles Make-A-Wish families

    The Make-A-Wish Foundation offered children diagnosed with critical illnesses a chance to view U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds in action during their unique over-the-water practice demonstration at The Thunder Over the Sound: Keesler and Biloxi Air and Space Show on the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi, May

  • Hill AFB F-35A units assist in F-16 fighter training

    For the last two weeks, F-16 basic course students and instructor pilots from the 311th Fighter Squadron at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, have been flying with and against the Air Force’s first operational F-35A units.

  • Hill AFB Airmen deploy F-35A to support coalition forces

    Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill Air Force Base deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, to support the Air Force Central Command mission in the Middle East. The aircraft arrived in country on April 15.

  • Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II arrives for first Middle East deployment

    As the first deployment to the U.S. Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility, crews are prepared and trained for the AFCENT mission. The F-35A, the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, provides greater operational capability by combining advanced stealth

  • New chapter for the 911th Airlift Wing

    As of the first week of April, three out of the eight C-17s assigned to the 911th AW will be stationed at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station. The rest of the aircraft are to arrive over the next few months.

  • Spark Cell winner solves mid-air refueling problem

    Tinkering with a small communication box in his home garage, recent Spark Cell winner Staff Sgt. Jeremie Anderson, 9th Special Operations Squadron MC-130J Commando II instructor loadmaster, discovered an innovation in mid-air refueling that changed the way loadmasters execute the mission.

  • B-1B returns to Arnold Air Force Base for store separation testing

    It had been nearly 20 years since a test involving the B-1B Lancer aircraft was conducted by Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base. This long absence recently came to an end, as a 10-percent model of the bomber is now being used to conduct a series of store separation tests

  • 4th Special Operations Squadron receives first AC-130J Ghostrider

    The 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, is now home to Air Force Special Operations Command’s newest aircraft – the Block 30 AC-130J Ghostrider gunship.Similar to the Block 20 AC-130Js flown by the 73rd Special Operations Squadron, the Block 30 upgrade marks a major improvement in

  • Conventional Rotary Launcher upgrade tested

    An upgrade to the B-52 Stratofortress and the Conventional Rotary Launcher was tested, Feb. 11. The change is designed to increase mission flexibility and make the B-52 more lethal in a combat environment.

  • Innovation in tight spaces

    As Hurricane Michael churned toward the Emerald Coast of Florida, F-35A Lightning IIs from the 33rd Fighter Wing evacuated to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, to avoid the storm’s path and potential catastrophic damage. As Michael passed, narrowly missing Eglin AFB, a different type of storm

  • BACN improves communication for deployed troops

    There is an aircraft that is so unique, you can only find it in one place – not even the pilots who fly the aircraft can touch it until they are deployed to this specific location.

  • AF declares the F-35A ‘combat ready’

    The F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter aircraft was declared ‘combat ready’ by Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Air Combat Command, Aug 2.