Air Force

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Gates to USAF: Straighten Up and Fly Right

Defense sec criticizes service for being slow to adapt to change

(Newser) - Robert Gates chided the Air Force today for being slow to change and for not providing enough help in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Addressing American and international student officers in Alabama, the defense secretary said getting the USAF to adapt, particularly in the use of drone aircraft, has...

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military
 Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military 
OPINION
Mar 31, 2008 3:39 PM CDT

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military

Budget woes aren't the only defense issue facing White House's next denizen

(Newser) - Has President Bush done irreparable damage to our armed forces? Not necessarily, Phillip Carter and Fred Kaplan write in Slate, offering a to-do list for the next president to tackle as he or she begins the process of fixing a military "in strange shambles."
  1. Overhaul the budget: "
...

Congress Will Nix Airbus Deal, Boeing Says

US firm blasts 'unfair' award of Air Force contract to Europeans

(Newser) - Boeing isn't taking its loss of a $35 billion military contract to Northrop Grumman and Airbus lying down, Reuters reports. A company vice president said he was "as confident as he could be" that Congress would overturn the Air Force's decision to buy refueling tankers from Boeing's European rival....

Boeing to Appeal $40B Contract
Boeing to Appeal $40B Contract
Mar 10, 2008 8:09 PM CDT

Boeing to Appeal $40B Contract

CEO claims 'serious flaws' in bidding

(Newser) - Boeing vowed today to appeal a controversial $40 billion contract to build refueling tankers for the Air Force, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Our team has taken a very close look at the tanker decision and found serious flaws in the process," Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said. The...

Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly
Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly
OPINION
Mar 9, 2008 9:45 AM CDT

Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly

Lawmakers are angry, but making aircraft giant compete is a good thing

(Newser) - There’s fury on Capitol Hill (and the campaign trail) over a $40 billion Air Force contract going to a European team, Mark Thompson notes in Time, but it’s entirely appropriate for the military to get the best technology it can. Indeed, anger over the snub to Boeing shows...

Stunned Boeing Presses USAF to Explain Choice

Scheduled debriefing not soon enough for jilted company

(Newser) - Boeing is calling for an “immediate debriefing” on the Air Force's choice of a foreign company to build its fuel tankers, Bloomberg reports. The selection of Airbus and Northrop Grumman is to be the subject of a scheduled March 12 meeting, but Boeing says that isn’t protocol. “...

US, Euro Alliance Landed Air Force Deal for Airbus

$40B contact took years of careful planning

(Newser) - Years of careful strategy and an alliance between executives was the key to Airbus nailing a $40 billion deal to build Air Force planes, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Pentagon’s decision last week is “a transformational shift in the way weapons systems are acquired. It’s an...

Boeing Stunned, Angry Over Bid
Boeing Stunned, Angry Over Bid
Mar 1, 2008 7:08 PM CST

Boeing Stunned, Angry Over Bid

Mobile, Ala. rep thrilled over promised tanker facility

(Newser) - From lawmakers to Boeing workers, Washington state is outraged today that the Air Force handed a $35 billion contract to foreign firm Airbus and Northrop Grumman, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. One worker called it "a sad day for Boeing," and a senior senator  blasted the Air Force for...

UFOs? Air Force Says Nope
UFOs? Air Force Says Nope
Jan 23, 2008 7:32 PM CST

UFOs? Air Force Says Nope

Not so fast, say scores of witnesses

(Newser) - Those mysterious lights flitting across the Texas sky earlier this month were military jet fighters, not alien ships, the Air Force said today. The lights prompted dozens of reports of UFO sightings, and the mystery grew when the military initially said it had no aircraft in the area. Today, the...

When Bird Meets Plane, Air Force Takes Action

It studies spatters to avoid collisions

(Newser) - When a bird smacks into a military plane, it is not a pretty picture, neither for bird nor plane. It is, however, a serious, if messy, problem, and one that jeopardizes the safety of pilots and some very expensive Air Force hardware. The Wall Street Journal visits a base in...

College Suicide Prevention Trumps Privacy

Cornell seeks signs of student anxiety, brings parents into loop

(Newser) - After the Virginia Tech massacre highlighted the issue of student safety, more colleges began risking legal action by telling parents when their kids suffer from mental health problems, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cornell University, battling a reputation for stressed-out students, is now training staff to seek out and report...

F-15 Fleet Grounded After Crash
F-15 Fleet Grounded After Crash
Nov 6, 2007 4:00 AM CST

F-15 Fleet Grounded After Crash

Officials worry structural defect may have triggered accident

(Newser) - The US Air Force has grounded all 676 F-15 fighter jets after a plane flown by a member of the Missouri Air National Guard crashed last week during a training exercise. Investigators believe the crash may have been caused by a structural defect.  A pilot whose name was not...

Alaska Elephant Retires to SoCal
Alaska Elephant Retires to SoCal
Nov 1, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Alaska Elephant Retires to SoCal

US Air Force enlisted to fly pachyderm Maggie south

(Newser) - Maggie, Alaska's only elephant, is leaving Anchorage for California, where the 25-year-old is expected to enjoy warmer climes and the company of fellow pachyderms. With no commercial plane large enough, the US Air Force will handle transportation. Zoo officials were initially loathe to give her up, but acquiesced after two...

Packers Great Max McGee Dies
Packers Great Max McGee Dies
Oct 21, 2007 9:50 PM CDT

Packers Great Max McGee Dies

McGee scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history

(Newser) - Max McGee, the Green Bay Packer legend who scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history, died yesterday after falling from the roof of his Minnesota home. McGee played 12 seasons with the Cheeseheads and served two years in the Air Force, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says. The Nevada native...

USAF Officers Take Rap for Missing Nukes

Top commanders relieved of duty after warheads take unauthorized flight

(Newser) - Nearly 2 months after a B-52 loaded with nuclear warheads took an unauthorized flight from North Dakota to Louisiana, the Air Force has relieved four officers of duty, CNN reports. After a 6-week investigation, 70 airmen will be disciplined for what the Air Force secretary called an "unacceptable mistake...

Top Air Force Official Found Dead
Top Air Force Official Found Dead
Oct 16, 2007 8:20 AM CDT

Top Air Force Official Found Dead

Apparent suicide was under investigation for taking pay for no work

(Newser) - The Air Force's second-ranked procurement official was found dead in an apparent suicide Sunday night, the Washington Post reports. Charles Riechers was under investigation for pay he received from a private consulting firm for which he apparently did no work, as well as a potential conflict of interest in a...

Ray Gun Eyed for Riot Control
Ray Gun Eyed for Riot Control
Oct 9, 2007 10:12 AM CDT

Ray Gun Eyed for Riot Control

Weapon focuses painful microwave beam on skin, but doesn't kill

(Newser) - The US is eyeing a new weapon said to produce "waves of agony" for its potential in riot control and combat situations, reports Information Week. Raytheon's Silent Guardian aims a highly concentrated beam of millimeter waves, heating water just under the skin in a manner that creates a burning...

Iraqi al-Qaeda Flaunts US Pilot's ID

Group says it will post video about ‘missing’ airman declared dead

(Newser) - An Iraqi group linked to al-Qaeda says it will release video about an Air Force pilot the US declared dead last year, Reuters reports. The group's statement termed the airman “missing,” and was accompanied by an image of Troy Gilbert’s military ID. The pilot was declared dead...

Nukes Go Missing in Mix-Up
Nukes Go Missing in Mix-Up
Sep 5, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Nukes Go Missing in Mix-Up

B-52 flies cross-country with five warheads mistakenly attached

(Newser) - Five nuclear warheads were briefly unaccounted for last week, the Military Times reports, when the warheads were not removed from missiles carried by a B-52 bomber prior to its flight from North Dakota to Louisiana. Though the weapons were in Air Force control at all times and there was no...

Ex-Astronaut Faces Romantic Rival in Court

Nowak's alleged victim says she's still afraid

(Newser) - The Air Force captain who was allegedly stalked and attacked by Lisa Nowak testified today she is still afraid of the ex-astronaut. At a pretrial hearing in Orlando, Colleen Shipman told the court she would feel more comfortable if Nowak continues wearing an ankle monitor that tracks her location, the...

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