NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • Voting for Spark Tank 2020 opens

    Spark Tank is an annual event in which Airmen pitch innovative ideas that build upon senior leader priorities to restore readiness, cost-effectively modernize and drive innovation.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • US, Japanese, Australian forces train together during Pacific Defender 20-1

    Pacific Defender 20-1, which was hosted by the 736th Security Forces Squadron Commando Warrior flight, is the first in a region-wide series of security forces-centric exercises and subject matter expert exchanges scheduled for this year. The U.S. Pacific Air Forces-sponsored events bring together

  • SecAF visits Incirlik AB

    Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett visited various U.S. facilities and met with Airmen assigned to the 39th Air Base Wing, Feb. 15.

  • Air Force commander awarded Military Service Award at BEYA 2020

    Founded in 2006, the Stars and Stripes dinner is a key event during the three-day Black Engineer of the Year Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Global, Competitiveness conference. As one of the nation’s largest gatherings of top military and civilian federal government leaders,

  • DoD to restructure 50 hospitals, clinics to improve readiness

    The Department of Defense announced, Feb. 19, plans to restructure 50 military hospitals and clinics to better support wartime readiness of military personnel and to improve clinical training for medical forces who deploy in support of combat operations around the world.

  • AETC launches Master MTL program

    Military Training Leaders have been around since 1973 with a long history of leading, mentoring and training Airmen throughout the technical training pipeline.

  • Grey Wolf begins testing

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

  • AFLCMC Gunsmith Shop creates rifle for aircrew

    Known as the Aircrew Self Defense Weapon (GAU-5A), the 7-pound, 5.56 mm caliber rifle is based on the M4 carbine and was designed by the Gunsmith Shop in close coordination with the small-arms engineer to provide downed aircrew with additional firepower while they wait for rescue.

  • AFIMSC holds world-wide finance conference

    Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center's Financial Operations Division hosted their third annual Air Force Financial Operations Conference Feb. 11-13.

  • POTUS congratulates Air Force’s newest members at Daytona 500

    The mass enlistment took place on stage in the center of the track. Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, Air Education and Training Command commander, conducted the oath to the Air Force’s newest members. Moments later, the group moved to a private gathering where the president gave a brief speech before the race.

  • Air Force implements pathfinder program for cybersecurity certification

    The Security+ certification can be acquired through passing the Security+ exam and is necessary to validate that an individual possesses the necessary skills to perform in an information technology security-based career. The exam is known to be complex and difficult and many Airmen fail and lose

  • AFIMSC engineer honored with Bronze Star Medal

    Capt. Shane Lockridge received the award for his performance as the director of operations and engineer adviser for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from March 2018 to February 2019.

  • Mobile app supports new hire process

    The “Newcomers” feature on the Air Force Materiel Command instance of the Air Force Connect mobile application provides new employees with step-by-step pre-employment and onboarding process information, checklists, installation maps, pay and benefits data, making the first days of work easier for

  • 2020 to be pivotal year in maintenance, logistics training transformation

    The 82nd delivers more than 65,000 graduates annually in more than 900 maintenance, logistics, civil engineering and some cyber and missile maintenance courses. These courses cover not only initial skills training, but advanced and specialty courses delivered at 60 locations around the globe.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Air Force makes special delivery at Daytona 500

    Air Force Recruiting Service is entering its 12th consecutive season partnering with Richard Petty Motorsports. The Air Force’s involvement with NASCAR, and its partnership with RPM helps AFRS meet its mission of inspiring the nation’s brightest young men and women to serve.

  • Air Force extends 20E6 promotion testing window for 18 AFSCs

    The Air Force’s Personnel Center made the decision to extend the testing window following discovery that 18 Specialty Knowledge Tests were unaccounted for. These tests were mailed to an installation test control office but, to date, have not been received within the expected delivery window.

  • Joint forces kick off Cope North 2020

    More than 100 aircraft will soar over the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia as U.S. forces, Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self-Defense Force) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) collaborates during exercise Cope North, Feb. 12-28.

  • Instructor pilots: Creating world-class aviators

    At Columbus Air Force Base, more than 300 instructor pilots are responsible for graduating close to 350 student pilots a year from programs such as Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals and the Aviation Leadership Program.

  • Newest F-35A squadron brings fifth-generation capabilities to Red Flag

    The exercise, which takes place from Jan. 27-Feb. 15, is meant to give at least 10 combat-representative sorties to younger pilots to better prepare them for real combat against very capable adversaries. The 421st Fighter Squadron is the most recent squadron to transition to the F-35A in the 388th

  • Child care app wins AFIMSC Innovation Rodeo

    Maj. Jacque Vasta, executive officer for Air Force Materiel Command’s deputy commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, will receive a share of $1 million in funding from AFIMSC to develop her idea for potential implementation across the Air Force and Department of Defense.

  • DoD has enduring role in election defense

    The Defense Department plays an important role in that whole-of-government partnership, spearheaded by the NSA and Cybercom's Election Security Group, formed in the wake of the successes of the Russia Small Group during the 2018 midterms.

  • 388th, 419th Fighter Wings serve as core wing at Red Flag 20-1

    From Jan. 27-Feb. 15, air and ground units from across the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force, are learning how to fight and win together in a realistic combat environment. As the core wing, the 388th FW is the hub for integration, support and resources for the

  • Hurricane Hunters fly atmospheric rivers

    The Hurricane Hunters are scheduled to perform “AR recon” from January through March. Scientists, led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego, working in partnership with the 53rd WRS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service

  • AFTAC experts travel to Georgia for STEMversity

    STEMversity is a nonprofit, seasonal program that provides state-of-the-art, hands-on STEM training to underrepresented youth through instructional laboratory experience. From blood spatter to DNA analysis, toxicology to nuclear forensics, the course covers a broad range of STEM-related themes and

  • Rescue dogs help heal wounded warriors

    The Office of the Warrior Advocate is a first-of-its-kind organization that was founded by two wounded warriors that saw a need. It is in that same spirit of seeing needs and answering the call that service dogs are becoming part of Offutt’s landscape and cultural norms.

  • A true warrior spirit

    At the beginning of each event, Air Force Wounded Warrior, or AFW2, staff meets with volunteers to assign and explain roles and responsibilities; educate them on what the congressionally-mandated, federally-funded program does for seriously wounded, ill and injured Airmen and their families; and

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AETC partners with UTSA to refine pilot candidate selection

    In an effort to gain more insight into what attributes could best predict the success of pilot training candidates, Air Education and Training Command turned to the data analytics program at the University of Texas-San Antonio to help them refine and validate the Pilot Candidate Selection Method as

  • Air Force releases latest field grade officer promotions

    In total, the Air Force selected 449 lieutenant colonels for promotion to colonel in the calendar year 2019D Line of the Air Force, chaplain and nurse corps CSBs and 19 captains for promotion to major in the CY19D chaplain CSB.

  • AFGSC tests Minuteman III missile launch from Vandenberg AFB

    A team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; the 90th MW at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming; and the 91st MW at Minot AFB, North Dakota, launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry

  • Door opener adds lethality for K9 unit

    The 96th Security Forces Squadron modified a military working dog squad car last summer with a safety feature that protects both the dog handler and their canine companion while out on patrol.

  • Digital Directorate sets new pace for Phase II SBIR awards

    The Digital Directorate at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., recently awarded seven Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Program contracts to some of the startups who participated in the July 2019 UAS and Kessel Run Pitch Days.

  • Air Force partners with Google to improve IT security

    The effort covers three areas: Network-as-a-Service, End User Services and Compute and Store, and consists of technical assessments to determine if alternative solutions can meet unique Air Force requirements.

  • Moving beyond a mistake: Academy cadet mentors troubled teens

    Over the winter break, the U.S. Air Force Academy cadet spent time mentoring middle and high schoolers at the Fort Bend Juvenile Facility in Richmond, Texas. The facility houses juveniles awaiting court appearances for a wide range of illegal behavior from theft to assault.

  • Week in Review

    This photo set highlights Air Force activities and achievements over the past week, and showcases the latest technology being developed to meet the needs of next-generation warfighters.

  • AFMC, ACC expand weapons system collaboration

    Gen. Arnold W. Bunch, Jr., Air Force Materiel Command commander and Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Combat Command commander, signed a memorandum of agreement establishing the Lead Wing Collaboration Program during the Technology and Acquisition Sustainment Review Conference Jan. 29, at Joint Base

  • Air advisor receives 2019 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award

    Lt. Col. Carl Miller, now the deputy chief of the special missions division at Headquarters, Air Education and Training Command, won the award for his achievements while deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, leading the execution of a $1.5 billion security assistance program as commander of the 538th Air

  • PMEL introduces a safer, efficient way of teaching

    A new virtual reality training experience, introduced by the 335th Training Squadron, is designed to allow students of the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory career field to train as if they are in a working environment.

  • Coronavirus: What providers, patients should know

    Believed to have originated at an animal market in Wuhan City, China, novel coronavirus has sickened hundreds and killed at least four. Military health officials say that an informed, common-sense approach minimizes the chances of getting sick.

  • Airfield Pavement Evaluation team ensures mission-ready airfields

    The Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s Airfield Pavement Evaluation team set a milestone while supporting not only typical flight operations around the world, but also in response to three natural disasters, including Hurricane Michael, a hurricane that slammed into Tyndall AFB in 2018.

  • Goldfein offers optimistic update on Air Force’s evolution and future

    Creating a system that uses data, machine learning and state-of-the art software to seamlessly link “sensors to shooters” across all domains – air, land, sea, cyber and space – is among Goldfein’s highest priorities as the Air Force’s highest-ranking military officer.

  • MacDill AFB awards contracts to small businesses

    At MacDill AFB Pitch Day, small-business vendors presented proposals to help fulfill requirements, close capability gaps or provide potential technology advancements at the 6th Air Refueling Wing.

  • Using science to stay ahead of the weather

    Weather-flight Airmen assigned to the 9th Operational Support Squadron propel the 9th Reconnaissance Wing’s operations through discipline and attention to detail of the skies.

  • AETC, AMC team up on VR solutions for modern C-130 training

    Headquarters Air Force, Air Mobility Command, and Air Education and Training Command have been working on a virtual-reality platform for maintenance training through Mass Virtual, a contractor that scans real-world objects to create virtual environments.

  • AFMC launches new holistic resiliency effort

    AFMC Connect provides units and leaders with the time, tools and resources to foster a culture of continual communication, building resilient military and civilian Airmen able to operate at optimal levels as they aim for personal and professional success.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • DoD innovation units join forces to engage small business

    Over the past few months, AFWERX, Army Futures Command, NavalX, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Innovation Network have joined forces to make this experimental concept an interagency initiative to bridge the gap between startups, small businesses and government.

  • AFMC standardizes on-boarding, civilian acculturation

    The Air Force Materiel Command Civilian Acculturation Program, officially launched in May 2019, standardizes and streamlines the on-boarding process across AFMC, with impacts ranging from increased job satisfaction to improved new employee retention and more.

  • Nellis AFB and RAAF team up to support Australia wildfire relief

    Members of the Royal Australian Air Force and Nellis Air Force Base teamed up to load more than 50 bundles of fire suppressant and other critical firefighting equipment onto three RAAF C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for delivery to the Australian Emergency authorities and Rural Fire Service.

  • USAFE-AFAFRICA builds partnership with Malawian air force

    Since 2018, the USAFE-AFAFRICA Manpower, Personnel and Services Directorate, Force Development team, has been coming to Malawi to partner with the Malawian air force to provide them with tools to build, sustain and stand up an independent air force.

  • “I Have a Dream” still inspiring

    Dr. King Jr. was a Baptist minister, turned social activist and civil rights leader who called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism.