Category Archives: U.S. Air Force

Breedlove Takes Command

Breedlove Takes Command

USAF Gen Philip Breedlove assumed command of EUCOM from retiring Adm James Stavridis on May, 10.

USAF Gen Philip Breedlove assumed command of EUCOM from retiring Adm James Stavridis on May, 10.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove has officially taken the helm as Commander U.S. forces in Europe; as Commander, European Command; and as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in a Friday ceremony in Stuttgart, Germany.

Breedlove was previously commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa. He is a 1977 graduate of Georgia Tech, a command pilot with 3,500 hours primarily in F-16s and was previously Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Read More

Crashed KC-135 Crew From Fairchild AFB

Crashed KC-135 Crew From Fairchild AFB

Capt. Mark Voss, Tech Sgt. Herman Mackey III and Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney were killed when their KC-135 went down in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

Capt. Mark Voss, Tech Sgt. Herman Mackey III and Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney were killed when their KC-135 went down in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

The Air Force has identified three crewmembers of a KC-135 refueling tanker that crashed Friday in Kyrgyzstan, according to a Sunday Pentagon release. Read More

Photos Show Downed Tanker Was From Kansas Unit

Photos Show Downed Tanker Was From Kansas Unit

A picture from the crash site in Kyrgyzstan of a KC-135. kloop.kg Photo

A picture from the crash site in Kyrgyzstan of a KC-135. kloop.kg Photo

Remains of the KC-135 that crashed Friday in Kyrgyzstan appear to be from an aircraft based at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. as part of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing.

An Associated Press photograph from the scene show a vertical stabilizer from the crashed aircraft. Along the top ridge the letters “onnell,” can be read in block letters. A separate photograph shows a tail number of, “AMC 38877.” Read More

Air Force Tanker Crashes in Kyrgyzstan, Crew Status 'Unknown'

Air Force Tanker Crashes in Kyrgyzstan, Crew Status ‘Unknown’

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon over the Pacific Ocean in 2012. US Air Force Photo

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon over the Pacific Ocean in 2012. US Air Force Photo

An U.S. Air Force refueling tanker has crashed in the northern region of Kyrgyzstan has crashed, according to a Friday release from the Pentagon.

The KC-135 Stratotanker went down about 100 miles west of the U.S. Transit Center at Manas, a U.S. installation that has supported the U.S. air war in Afghanistan since 2001. Read More

U.S. Spy Plane Down in Afghanistan, Kills Four Airmen

U.S. Spy Plane Down in Afghanistan, Kills Four Airmen

A MC-12 Liberty surveillance aircraft in Iraq. US Air Force photo.

A MC-12 Liberty surveillance aircraft in Iraq. US Air Force photo.

Four U.S. airmen were killed Sunday in a plane crash in Afghanistan, according to a release from the Pentagon.

The four airmen went down in a MC-12W Liberty surveillance aircraft in the south of the country, according to a release from the Department of Defense. Read More

Pentagon Cancels Controversial Unmanned and Cyber Medal

Pentagon Cancels Controversial Unmanned and Cyber Medal

The new Distinguished Warfare Medal annouced in February at the Pentagon. DoD Photo

The canceled Distinguished Warfare Medal annouced in February at the Pentagon. DoD Photo

The Pentagon is cancelling a controversial medal designed to recognize contributions of unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and cyber troops, according to a Monday memorandum signed by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel obtained by USNI News. Read More

Opinion: Thinking Weapons Are Closer Than We Think

Opinion: Thinking Weapons Are Closer Than We Think

Man Transportable Robot System "Talon" Mark 2 approaches a suspected bomb maker's building during an exercise. US Navy Photo

Man Transportable Robot System “Talon” Mark 2 approaches a suspected bomb maker’s building during an exercise. US Navy Photo

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has constructed a neuromorphic device—the functioning structure of a mammalian brain—out of artificial materials. DARPA’s project, SyNAPSE (Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics) signals a new level for biomimicry in engineering. The project team included IBM, HRL, and their subcontracted universities. Read More

Hagel on Budget: ‘We are Living in a World of Complete Uncertainty’

Hagel on Budget: ‘We are Living in a World of Complete Uncertainty’

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at National Defense University in Washington, D.C., on April 3, 2013.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at National Defense University in Washington, D.C., on April 3, 2013.

The Pentagon has issued a budget that hopes to sidestep mandatory sequestration cuts as part of a larger Obama administration spending reduction strategy.

The $526.6 billion budget, announced Wednesday at a press briefing at the Pentagon, is part of the larger budget proposal across government that would save $1.8 trillion over ten years. Read More

Document: Joint Publication One

Document: Joint Publication One

From the March, 25 2013 publication: Joint Publication 1, Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States, is the capstone publication for all joint doctrine, presenting fundamental principles and overarching guidance for the employment of the Armed Forces of the United States. This represents the evolution in our warfighting guidance and military theory that forms the core of joint warfighting doctrine and establishes the framework for our forces’ ability to fight as a joint team. Read More