NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • AFMC seeks innovative ideas through IdeaScale Campaign

    Airmen and civilians from across the enterprise are invited to submit innovative ideas and solutions to improve the AFMC mission through the Air Force Ideation Platform, or IdeaScale, now through September 2020.

  • I-WEPTAC 2020 registration opens

    Hosted by the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, the annual conference is the Air Force’s only innovation forum for members of the installation and mission support community. It draws experts from the various Air Force combat support core functions to address I&MS shortfalls and help

  • Air Force Aid Society launches new enhancements to its mobile budget app

    The initial version of the AFAS Budget Builder App was launched in 2018 and was created primarily as a budgeting tool to help Airmen and their families improve how they save and budget their money each month. Prior to the Budget Builder App, AFAS provided paper check registers to Airmen and other

  • Tyndall AFB comptrollers support base rebuild, win Air Force award

    A team of comptrollers from the 325th Comptroller Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, received the Gen. Larry O. Spencer Special Acts and Services award for assisting in more than 11,000 people from the 325th Fighter Wing with their finances before, during and after Hurricane Michael made landfall in

  • US, Japan forces welcome new year with bilateral jump

    This is the first year the Air Force participated in the event featuring the bilateral collaboration between U.S. and Japanese forces, utilizing aircraft from both the Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force and jumpers from the U.S. Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

  • 18th Wing, joint partners execute first WestPac Rumrunner exercise

    With the evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific and to further support a safe and secure region, the 18th Wing spent months designing WestPac Rumrunner as an exercise to train counter-air capabilities and strengthen joint interoperability. In addition to air tactics and joint

  • AFMC beta-tests diagnostic fitness assessments

    As the Air Force continues to review the overall current fitness assessment guidance for Airmen, AFMC has elected to implement diagnostic testing as a potential part of the policy change.

  • Around the Air Force: SPOC, Grey Wolf, Air Force 75th B-Day Theme

    Today's look Around the Air Force features the redesignation of the Fourteenth Air Force as Space Operations Command, the newest Grey Wolf helicopter, and the Air Force announces its 75th annual birthday theme competition. (Hosted by Senior Airman Angelo Rosario)

  • Air Force commissions first female Muslim chaplain

    Chaplain candidate Saleha Jabeen was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Chicago at the Catholic Theological Union by the Air Force chief of chaplains, Dec. 18, becoming the first female Muslim chaplain in the Department of the Defense.

  • AFIMSC announces 2020 Innovation Rodeo finalists

    Eight finalists for the 2020 AFIMSC Innovation Rodeo were selected out of 143 submissions and nearly 2,000 online votes to compete for a share of $1 million in funding and resources to implement their ideas.

  • AF Year in Photos

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

  • Air Force announces Spark Tank 2020 selectees

    Spark Tank also offers Airmen the opportunity to get their ideas in front of key enabling agencies that can share expertise and resources such as funding or personnel for the projects being presented and demonstrate pathways for intrapreneurs to make their initiatives successful.

  • Air Force relaunches Employee Assistance Program

    The Air Force Employee Assistance Program has relaunched with a new phone number and website. The program will provide the same services as it did in the past, and at no cost. It may be accessed 24/7 by all Air Force civilian personnel (APF and NAF), Guard/Reserve and family members.

  • New weapons system completes first live mission

    The ground-based weapons system allows squadron members at Tinker AFB to provide command and control to both live and simulated aircraft from around the country. Only 18 of these weapons systems exist in Air Force inventory and Tinker AFB is now one of only four active-duty bases to have this

  • Air Force to solicit 75th birthday theme ideas

    Concepts for the 75th birthday theme should consider inclusiveness of multi-domain operations, capture Airmen’s innovation and reflect the Air Force’s heritage over the last 75 years.

  • Air Force sets foundation for energy optimization, lethality

    As 2020 approaches and the Air Force prepares to take on the challenges of the next decade, we must also review our successes and lessons learned from the last year. For Air Force Operational Energy, 2019 was a year for laying the foundation to build a more optimized and lethal force in the years to

  • Air Force studies fatigue, sleep to enhance readiness

    Researchers with the Air Force Research Laboratory 711th Human Performance Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are looking for ways to better equip Airmen and their leadership with crucial data to ensure that Airmen are getting the necessary rest to maximize mission execution.A team of

  • 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

  • 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.

  • Hill AFB fighter wings receive final F-35A Lightning II

    The first operational F-35As arrived at Hill Air Force Base in September 2015, and since then, the active duty 388th and Air Force Reserve 419th Fighter Wings have flown more than 17,500 sorties and more than 33,000 flying hours.

  • MacDill AFB integrates MWDs, joint force counter-IED training

    The 6th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal flight held an integrated training with 6th Security Forces Squadron military working dog teams, aeromedical technicians with the 927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron and veterinary technicians with the U.S. Army Public Health Activity, Fort

  • AFGSC names 2020 Spark Tank finalists

    Air Force Spark Tank is an open call for Airmen to bring forward their best ideas that build upon senior leader priorities to restore readiness, cost-effectively modernize and drive innovation.