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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Air Force

Air Force stories: 39 news summaries

1 - 20 of 39 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Air Force Pulls Video After 
 Marines Complain 

Recruiting vid says airman 'in better shape'

Oct 16, 09 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Air Force hastily pulled down its latest recruiting video yesterday in response to a complaint from a high-ranking Marine Corps official. In the video, an Air Force instructor boasts that his charges leave basic training “in better shape than most Marines.” Marines spotted it on the Air... More »

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military • Air Force • US military • recruiting • military training • military recruits • Marines • Marine Corps sergeant major

US Pilot Missing
After F-16s Collide

Coast Guard searches waters off South Carolina

Oct 16, 09 4:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Coast Guard is searching off the coast of South Carolina for the pilot of an F-16 involved in a collision with another fighter jet last night during a training exercise. The other pilot involved managed to safely return to Shaw Air Force Base and is being examined by doctors.... More »

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Air Force • fighter jet • US military • fighter pilot • F-16

 Petraeus Sorry 
 for Razzing 
 Air Force 

Central Command head apologizes after 'outrageous' joke

Aug 28, 09 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - The head of US Central Command has apologized to the Air Force after making a joke at the service's expense, the Air Force Times reports. A rep for the Air Force chief of staff said the apology was accepted. David Petraeus, an Army general who commands US operations in Iraq... More »

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David Petraeus • Air Force • US military • US Army • apology • speech • US Air Force • US Central Command • Armed Forces • Marines

(Newser) - The Brazilian Air Force has recovered the first two bodies from the Air France crash, the BBC reports. They also found a suitcase and a backback with a laptop inside. “We confirm the recovery from the water debris and bodies from the Air France plane," an air force... More »

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Air Force • Atlantic Ocean • Brazil • plane crash • bodies • debris • search and rescue • Air France Flight 447

Air Force Ship Becomes Artificial Reef Off Fla. Keys

WWII cargo ship also tracked missiles and spacecraft

May 27, 09 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Demolition experts sank an Air Force ship this morning to create an artificial reef in the Florida Keys, the AP reports. The 17,000-ton, WWII-era cargo ship took less than 2 minutes to sink after a series of explosions. The new "reef" is expected to bring in about... More »

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Air Force • World War II • demolition • US Air Force • cargo ships • Florida Keys • artificial reef • Jay-ZTV • Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg

UPDATED

Pilot Killed in Crash
of F-22 Fighter Jet


Mar 25, 09 9:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - The pilot aboard an F-22 fighter jet that crashed near Edwards Air Force Base this morning was killed, the Los Angeles Times reports. The F-22 Raptor went down during a test mission, and it wasn't immediately clear if the 49-year-old pilot ejected; no word yet on the cause of the... More »

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Air Force • plane crash • pilot • F-22 fighter jet

Gregg Pulled In Profit on
Air Force Base Earmark 

No personal gain from earmarks, says senator

Feb 27, 09 8:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama can be glad Sen. Judd Gregg, briefly nominated for commerce secretary, backed out. Today, the AP reports that Gregg invested heavily in efforts by his brother Cyrus to redevelop New Hampshire’s Pease Air Force Base, while earmarking federal dollars for the redevelopment. “These earmarks do not... More »

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New Hampshire • Air Force • governor • Air National Guard • senator • Judd Gregg

City Covered Up Yeager's Fabled Bridge Stunt

Press, public kept mum about '48 flight under city bridge

Oct 8, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - When local son Chuck Yeager flew his jet under a Charleston bridge in 1948, there was no advance warning—and no official record of it afterward. The rebellious fighter pilot was scheduled to buzz a boat race, but no one expected him to do it from 6 feet above the... More »

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Air Force • Charleston • pilot • West Virginia • jet • Chuck Yeager

 Missile Strikes Are 
 Learning Tool: CIA 

Chief says agency 'tickles' terrorist enemy to gauge reaction

Sep 17, 08 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The CIA purposely uses missile strikes to "tickle" enemy groups, often by targeting a single person, to learn from their responses, agency chief Michael Hayden said today. Hayden also told a gathering of Air Force members the CIA has "picked up insights" from working alongside the military, the... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • military • CIA • Pakistan • Air Force • Michael Hayden • Predator

Pentagon's New Bid Rules Favor Northrop: Boeing

Bidding changes seen to justify previous decision

Aug 7, 08 11:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Pentagon issued new criteria yesterday for the second round of bidding on its lucrative fuel-tanker contract, Bloomberg reports, and Boeing backers immediately cried foul. The new terms give bonus points to a plane that carries more fuel than the earlier guidelines, which Boeing officials and congressional allies claim favors... More »

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Pentagon • Boeing • Air Force • fuel tankers • Northrop Grumman • Department of Defense • tanker aircraft • government contracts

 B-52 Crashes Off Guam 

Search under way for 6 crew members

Jul 21, 08 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - A US B-52 bomber with six crew members crashed near the island of Guam today, AP reports. A dozen planes and ships have been deployed by the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard to search for survivors. Rescuers have found at least two people, but their condition was not immediately... More »

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Air Force • Coast Guard • plane crash • Guam • B-52 bomber

(Newser) - The Pentagon will re-open a $35 billion contract to build the Air Force's fleet of new refueling tankers and pick a new winner by the end of the year, congressional sources say. The Office of the Secretary of Defense—not the Air Force—will oversee the new competition between Boeing... More »

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Pentagon • Robert Gates • Boeing • Air Force • Airbus • Northrop Grumman

Nuclear Parts Still Missing: Pentagon Report

Sensitive components remain unaccounted for in mess that cost Air Force brass jobs

Jun 19, 08 2:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - The investigation that resulted in the dismissal of top US Air Force brass two weeks ago also found that hundreds of nuclear-missile parts remain missing, the Financial Times reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon needed "to re-establish positive control of these sensitive, classified components" in announcing the... More »

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Air Force • nuclear weapons • Department of Defense • mistake • nuclear arsenal • nuclear missiles

Tough Calls Await on Boeing Defense Bid

CEO can fold if feds deny appeal on tanker, or ramp up lobbying

Jun 12, 08 3:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Government Accountability Office must rule by next Thursday on Boeing’s appeal of an Air Force deal granting European rival Airbus a multi-billion dollar tanker contract—and CEO Jim McNerney has a tough call ahead if Boeing loses, the Seattle Times reports. He can ground the appeal, or draw... More »

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Boeing • Air Force • Airbus • refueling • Government Accountability Office • contract • tanker aircraft • Jim McNerney • Boeing 767 • Airbus A330

US 'Learning as We Go'
in Iraq, Says Bush

President compares war on terrorism to war on fascism and communism

May 28, 08 5:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush said today the US is "learning as we go" in trying to bring democracy to Iraq and urged Americans not to lose faith. Delivering the commencement address at the Air Force Academy, Bush likened today's campaign against Islamic extremism to the fight against fascism of last century,... More »

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Air Force • commencement speech • Iraq war • George W. Bush • Afghanistan war

 US Preparing Iran War Plans 

Attack isn't imminent, Joint Chiefs chair says, but US has capability

Apr 25, 08 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US is preparing for a potential military action against Iran, the nation’s top military official said today. Such an attack would be “extremely stressing” on the military, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, but it is on the table if a diplomatic solution can’... More »

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Iran • Robert Gates • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Air Force • Navy • US military • Adm. Mike Mullen

Gates to USAF: Straighten Up and Fly Right

Defense sec criticizes service for being slow to adapt to change

Apr 21, 08 4:46 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • Robert Gates • Air Force • US military • defense secretary

OPINION

 Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military 

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

Mar 31, 08 3:39 PM CDT
(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:
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • War on Terror • military • Air Force • Navy • US Army • soldier • war cost

Congress Will
Nix Airbus Deal,
Boeing Says

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

Mar 19, 08 6:44 AM CDT
(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.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Pentagon • Boeing • contracts • Air Force • Airbus • Northrop Grumman • aircraft • Government Accountability Office • US Air Force

Boeing to Appeal $40B Contract

CEO claims 'serious flaws' in bidding

Mar 10, 08 8:09 PM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Boeing • Air Force • contractors • Airbus • Government Accountability Office • EADS • Military-Industrial Complex

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