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U.S. Air Force News

  • KC-46 completes required flight tests

    The successful A-10 mission was the last of six in-flight refueling demonstrations required before the tanker program can request approval from Frank Kendall, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to award production Lots 1 and 2, totaling 19 KC-46A aircraft.

  • Program works to reduce risk on next Air Force One

    The Air Force awarded a contract modification to Boeing July 15 to continue risk reduction activities for the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program, which will field the next Air Force One.

  • 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 dominance and the critical role of fifth-generation fighters

    Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the Air Combat Command commander, discussed the importance of air superiority and the need to assure it by modernizing the combat air force during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee in Washington, D.C., July 13.

  • Carter announces 560 US troops to deploy to Iraq

    Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other Iraqi leaders in Baghdad on July 11. He commended them for the recent progress in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including the capture of a strategic airfield near the town of

  • 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.

  • July issue of Airman magazine now available

    The July issue of Airman magazine is now available to download and is viewable through a web browser. In the cover story, titled “Arctic Vigil,” you’ll go behind the scenes with the 176th Air Defense Squadron and the Combat Alert Cell of F-22 Raptors that monitor the sovereign airspace around Alaska

  • MQ-9 crashes in northern Syria

    An MQ-9 Reaper crashed in northern Syria July 5. The aircraft was flying a combat mission when positive control of the aircraft was lost. The remotely piloted aircraft crash was not due to enemy fire. There are no reports of civilian injuries or damage to civilian property at the crash site.

  • First USAF F-35A takes overseas flight to England

    The Air Combat Command F-35A Heritage Flight team accomplished America’s first transatlantic flight in an F-35A Lightning II, with refueling support from a KC-10 Extender, when it touched down June 30 at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • Goldfein swears in as 21st CSAF

    Gen. David L. Goldfein was sworn in as the Air Force’s 21st chief of staff by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James during a ceremony at the Pentagon on July 1.

  • 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.

  • Airmen help save fishermen at sea after ship catches fire

    Members of a special operations surgical team assigned to the 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt Field, Florida, worked to save the lives of two critically-burned fishermen rescued 500 miles off the coast of Bermuda on June 22.

  • Tech Report: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

    Never leave an Airman behind. In this Air Force Tech Report, we look at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency as they search far and wide for any remains of service members lost during conflicts to ensure closure is brought to their families.

  • Yesterday’s Air Force: AF museum opens new building

    The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, is showing off its brand new hangar full of historical aircraft and tons of Air Force history. It features four sections: presidential, research and development, space, and global reach.

  • Montana's last Doolittle Raider honored

    Seventy-four years after the historic Doolittle Tokyo Raid, former Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher, one of two remaining Doolittle Raiders, was laid to rest June 27 in Missoula. He was 94.

  • AF announces total force award

    Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced the annual General Mark A. Welsh III One Air Force Award during a retirement dinner held in honor of the award’s namesake in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2016.This new Air Force-level award will be presented to the service’s top total force team that

  • Air Force bids farewell to Welsh

    Stealing a moment of silence, looking into the eyes of his wife, he takes a deep breath and prepares for what’s to come. Standing tall and proud, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III walks into a hangar in front of hundreds of onlookers, all there to bid him farewell.

  • 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.

  • BLUE: Khobar Towers

    Air Force TV has released the latest episode of the Air Force's flagship television program, BLUE. On June 25, 1996, the U.S. Air Force experienced one of the most horrific attacks in its history. Three Airmen look back on the incident and how it changed them and the Air Force -- forever.

  • ACC: F-35 on track for IOC

    The F-35A Lightning II is on track to declare initial operational capability between August and December. Col. David Chace, the F-35 systems management office chief and lead for F-35 operational requirements at Air Combat Command, answers questions on the fifth-generation fighter.

  • Archers compete in first visual impairment category at Warrior Games

    Wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans continue to break personal records and show fans and friends amazing feats and June 17 was no different, as archers competed in the first-ever visual impairment category at the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military

  • 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.

  • Blended retirement system training now available

    Online training designed to educate Airmen about the new Blended Retirement System, the Defense Department system with changes on the current military retirement system, is now available via Joint Knowledge Online course number P-US1330. The course is also available to those without a Common Access

  • Goldfein testifies at CSAF confirmation hearing

    The Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing June 16 for Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein on Capitol Hill, following his presidential nomination for the position of the 21st Air Force chief of staff on April 26.

  • Standing tall: Amputee Airmen seek to defy odds in therapy sessions

    After a sprint around an indoor track with her prosthetic running blade, Heather Carter stopped, visibly tired. She smiled and began to sprint another lap. The medically retired senior airman once rounded the bases for the Air Force softball team until a freak accident severely injured her left leg

  • AF recovers data after Automated Case Tracking System outage

    After aggressively leveraging all vendor and department capabilities, the Air Force made a full recovery of the Automated Case Tracking System database, the Air Force inspector general system of record for all records related to IG complaints, investigations and appeals.

  • BLUE: Charlie Mike to Recovery

    Through the fog of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic injuries, and illness, American veterans realize that the ability to regain control of their minds and bodies lies within their own hands.

  • No limits: Airman pushes past near death experience

    Staff Sgt. Sebastiana Lopez Arellano was riding a motorcycle when an animal scurried onto the road, causing her to swerve and hit a curb. As she high-sided over her bike, the momentum catapulted her body into a tree. The impact severed her right leg. As she recovered, she found comfort in sports and

  • A backseat view of combat airstrikes

    Throughout the month of May, the air coalition has been able to strike lucrative targets including: logistics lines, command and control and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant financial resources through more than 1,800 strike sorties.

  • 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.

  • Beale takes next step in energy resilience

    The Defense Logistics Agency and the Air Force released a request for information regarding the pursuit of energy resilience at Beale Air Force Base, California, on June 8.

  • Tuskegee Airman laid to rest

    The Air Force paid its final respects to former 2nd Lt. Malvin G. Whitfield, an Army Air Forces and Air Force veteran, at Arlington National Cemetery, June 8. Whitfield distinguished himself as the first U.S. military member to win Olympic gold medals while serving his country. Whitfield joined the

  • Airmen Powered by Innovation projected to save over $120M

    The Air Force secretary, while championing change across the service, has made the Make Every Dollar Count campaign one of her top three priorities. At the heart of the campaign is the Airmen Powered by Innovation program. Since 2014, API has received 6,791 ideas from Airmen. Of those submissions,

  • Minot B-52s begin Baltops 16 flying ops

    A B-52H Stratofortress aircrew from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, conducted their first flying training mission in support of the multinational exercise Baltops 16 on June 7 from Royal Air Force Fairford.

  • June issue of Airman magazine now available

    In the cover story, titled “The Swat Team,” you’ll go behind the scenes with Air Force entomologists and public health Airmen as they learn more about the Zika virus, carried by Aedes mosquitoes, and how to protect from infection.

  • Obama addresses Academy graduates

    President Barack Obama shared with the graduating cadets of the U.S. Air Force Academy some of the lessons he has learned in more than seven years as president and commander in chief during a June 2 commencement ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

  • Ready to receive: B-52s touch down in England

    With the sharp screech of rubber meeting asphalt, two B-52 Stratofortress bombers from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, touched down June 2 at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • 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.

  • Tech Report: Hurricane Hunters

    The Hurricane Hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron use high-tech equipment called a “dropsonde” to aid in the forecasting of hurricanes and other tropical storms.

  • That others may live: Silver Star medal for fallen Airman, son

    Capt. Matthew Roland, of the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, posthumously received the Silver Star on June 1 for actions taken during an ambush Aug. 26, 2015, in Afghanistan. Roland's family accepted the decoration on behalf of the fallen special tactics officer.

  • Forever family, never forgotten

    A mother watched as her 2-year-old, blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy stood in the middle of Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, hugging the gravestone of his father who had died five months prior. With heavy hearts, the two journeyed from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to meet others who understood

  • CHIEFchat: EPRs heading in the right direction

    The Air Force’s top enlisted leader addressed the new enlisted performance report and gave insight to feedback he’s received during his latest edition of CHIEFchat at the Defense Media Activity on Fort George G. Meade. Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody encouraged Airmen to forget

  • AF releases Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan

    The Air Force released a flight plan directing development activity as a result of a yearlong study focused on developing capability options to ensure joint force air superiority in 2030 and beyond.

  • 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.

  • Chief becomes first AF E-9 to graduate Ranger School

    The average U.S. Army Ranger School student is in the rank of E-4 through E-6 on the enlisted side and O-1 through O-3 for the officers. Most are between 19 and 27 years old, and only about 21 Airmen graduate each year. Then there are candidates like 39-year-old Chief Master Sgt. William Speck, who

  • 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 applies new EPA guidance

    The Air Force will apply new Environmental Protection Agency guidance for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) to its ongoing effort to determine if water supplies at its U.S. installations and in local communities are at risk for contamination.

  • Flight plan outlines next 20 years for RPA

    Air Force leaders outlined what the next 20 years will look like for remotely piloted aircraft in the Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan published April 30.

  • Total force effort trains future KC-46 pilots

    A group of total force Airmen has been selected to participate in the initial operational test and evaluation of the KC-46 Pegasus as the Air Force prepares for the tanker’s arrival to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.

  • 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.

  • AF Ranger instructors prep Airmen for rigorous course

    About 50 to 60 Airmen a year volunteer to attend the bi-annual Air Force Security Forces Center Pre-Ranger Course at Fort Bliss, Texas. Passing the course, which mirrors the first two weeks of Ranger School, is a requirement to attend the school.

  • B-21 naming contest moves to next phase

    Submission entries for the B-21 bomber naming contest concluded May 5. Active, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen, along with their dependents, submitted more than 4,600 entries in response to the contest announced by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James during the Air Force Association Air Warfare

  • Let the healing begin: Invictus Games kick off

    The thudding noise of helicopter blades cut through the air, bright-colored lights sliced through smoke and fans cheered to honor the more than 500 military competitors from 15 nations who gathered at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, on May 8 to compete in Invictus Games

  • 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.

  • BLUE: Out of Vietnam

    Air Force TV has released the latest episode of the Air Force's flagship television program, BLUE.

  • Tech Report: The B-52 Stratofortress

    For the last 60 years, the B-52 Stratofortress has had an incredible career as the U.S. military’s main bomber. Even though it's 60 years old, it still has plenty of years of service left.

  • AMC Rodeo competition evolves into Mobility Guardian exercise

    Air Mobility Command's first Mobility Guardian readiness exercise is planned for 2017, from July 30 - Aug. 12, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The exercise will be one of the most realistic, real-world, scenario-driven exercises the command has ever undertaken, said Maj. Gen. Jerry

  • May issue of Airman magazine now available

    The May issue of Airman magazine is now available to download and is viewable through a Web browser. In the cover story, titled “‘We Chose This,’” you’ll go behind the scenes of the challenging training course required to become a Phoenix Raven at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint

  • Goldfein nominated as 21st CSAF

    Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced April 26 that the president has nominated Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein to be the 21st chief of staff of the Air Force, succeeding Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, who has served in the position since 2012.

  • 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.

  • Beale selected for Resilient Energy Demonstration Initiative

    The Air Force has selected Beale Air Force Base, California, as the lead site for its Resilient Energy Demonstration Initiative (REDI) to develop and deploy innovative energy resilience technologies and business models, and then apply the results to other missions and installations across the Air

  • F-35 program accelerating, at 'pivot point,' program chief tells Congress

    The program executive officer of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft program said the rapidly changing, growing and accelerating program is at a "pivot point" as officials address a number of challenges. The F-35 program, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter program, is of vital importance to U.S.

  • Airmen support earthquake relief efforts in Ecuador

    The United States, in coordination with the Ecuadorian government, deployed 12 U.S. Airmen to Ecuador this week to support ongoing international relief efforts for victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the South American country April 16.

  • Air Force ROTC returns to Harvard

    Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James helped return the Air Force's tie to one of the country's most prestigious institutions April 22. The secretary signed an agreement at Harvard University, Massachusetts, re-establishing the Air Force ROTC detachment there.

  • Enlisted corps bestows highest honor upon Welsh

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III was inducted into the Air Force Order of the Sword during a ceremony April 22 in Montgomery, Alabama. An ancient tradition adopted by the Air Force in 1967, the Order of the Sword is the highest level of honor and tribute the enlisted corps can give

  • Pentagon spokesman: Up to 250 more U.S. forces to deploy to Syria

    Up to 250 additional U.S. personnel are being deployed to Syria to support local forces on the ground and build on successes of U.S. forces already deployed there in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Pentagon's press secretary said April 25.

  • Airman swims into university’s hall of fame

    For one 96th Test Wing Airman, the wild blue yonder isn't overhead but below and in front of his gaze as he stands on the starting block waiting for his signal. Upon the alert, he blasts off and pierces his calm blue horizon to begin a competitive swim. Senior Airman Francisco Perez Castillo, a 96th

  • Top 5 facts about AF energy conservation

    Earth Day, which takes place annually on April 22, serves as a day to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The Air Force's overarching Earth Day theme continues to be "Conserve Today. Secure Tomorrow."

  • KC-46 team wins DOD environmental award

    The KC-46A Pegasus program’s Environment, Safety and Occupational Health team was named the Defense Department’s top large program in environmental excellence in weapon system acquisition April 22.