United States Air Force

(Newser) - The Tuskegee Airmen of WWII have been invited to the inauguration of the nation's first black president, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama has acknowledged his debt to the elite all-black force, whose heroes fought for a country that discriminated against them. Now in their 80s and 90s, it's unclear how many of the roughly 330 surviving members can make the trek to Washington. More »

(Newser) - Boeing has warned the Pentagon it will pull out of the new bidding to build a fleet of air tankers unless it gets an extra four months to prepare a bid, the Wall Street Journal reports. A Boeing pullout would leave the Air Force with no competition for a $35 billion contract to replace 179 aging refueling planes. More »

(Newser) - A three-man US missile crew fell asleep while in possession of  top secret launch codes for nuclear missiles, reports Reuters. It happened earlier this month at a Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota—the same site of a breach last year in which nuclear weapons were erroneously loaded on a B-52 and flown to Louisiana. More »

(AP) - The US Air Force said today all six crew members aboard a B-52 bomber that crashed Monday off Guam were killed. A wide search effort has shifted focus from rescue to recovery of the crew, said officials at Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island. More »

(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 available. The search area of floating debris and oil covers 70 square miles. More »

(Newser) - Air Force chiefs have sought $16 million in anti-terrorism funds to build luxurious "comfort capsules" to be installed in military aircraft for VIP officer travel, reports the Washington Post . The project's costs have soared as finicky generals demand changes, with modifications in the plush leather seats—including a switch from brown to Air Force blue —estimated at $70,000 alone. More »

(Newser) - Aviation experts were treated to a display of the world’s most advanced fighter jet at the kickoff of the Farnborough International Airshow today in England, Reuters reports. In its first international exhibition, the Lockheed Martin F-22 “Raptor” executed a dizzying array of flips, dips, and dives as it showed off the dual engines that allow it to achieve twice the speed of sound. More »

(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 Co. and a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. More »

(Newser) - Guantanamo Bay interrogators learned their techniques from Chinese Communists who used them on American POWs in the Korean War, the New York Times reports. A 1957 Air Force chart labeled Communist Coercive Methods for Eliciting Individual Compliance detailed methods like prolonged standing and exposure to cold, and was used as a