DefenceTalkToday, two U.S. Air Force B-1B strategic bombers from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, conducted training with fighter aircraft from the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) and a low-level flight with fighter aircraft from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States, in response to the recent nuclear test by North Korea. In […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-b-1-bombers-conduct-flights-with-south-korea-japan-68145/

DefenceTalkHOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE: The QF-4 Phantom flew its final unmanned mission in the skies above White Sands Missile Range on August 17. During the flight, the unmanned aircraft served its primary mission as an aerial target and was shot at by an F-35 Lightning II from Edwards Air Force Base, California. “Our mission is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/qf-4-phantom-flies-final-unmanned-mission-68084/

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force and the Bulgarian Air Force will jointly conduct air policing to protect Bulgarian airspace starting on 9 September 2016. Two US F-15 fighter jets will join Bulgaria’s MIG-29s for a week on this mission, which is part of NATO’s enhanced air policing measures for eastern Allies. Until now, air policing over […]https://www.defencetalk.com/usaf-to-augment-air-policing-over-bulgaria-68052/

DefenceTalkTeam Edwards accomplished another first recently by executing a clean separation of three Joint Attack Surface Standoff Missiles, or JASSMs, from the internal weapons bay of a B-52 Stratofortress here. The aircraft has long been capable of carrying JASSMs on its wing pylons, but this is the first time they have been successfully released from […]https://www.defencetalk.com/b-52-releases-jassm-from-internal-bay-68015/

DefenceTalkJOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii: Three B-2 Spirits deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to Andersen AFB, Guam, in the U.S. Pacific Command area of operations Aug. 9. U.S. Strategic Command bombers regularly rotate through the Indo-Asia-Pacific region to conduct PACOM-led air operations, providing leaders with deterrent options to maintain regional stability. During this […]https://www.defencetalk.com/usaf-b-2s-conduct-deployment-to-indo-asia-pacific-67985/

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force is facing a fighter pilot shortage as it scrambles to service an ever-growing array of air campaigns around the world, top officials said Wednesday. The shortfall will likely rise to more than 700 pilots (from a force size of 3,500 fighter pilots) by the end of this fiscal year, and as […]https://www.defencetalk.com/stretched-us-air-force-faces-fighter-aircraft-shortage-67978/

DefenceTalkThe head of the US Air Force on Thursday said she would be “concerned” if President Barack Obama were to formally declare a “no-first-use” policy for America’s arsenal of nuclear weapons. US media reports have in recent weeks said Obama is weighing an overhaul of long-standing nuclear policy, including by pledging to never conduct the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-head-concerned-about-no-first-use-nukes-67956/

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force on Tuesday declared an initial squadron of F-35A stealth fighters as ready for combat, a major milestone for the futuristic aircraft dogged by delays and cost overruns. The squadron of about 12 planes is based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and the planes’ combat rating — known as initial […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-declares-f-35a-fighter-jet-combat-ready-67946/

DefenceTalkLockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries successfully completed the initial test flight of its second T-50A configured aircraft in Sacheon, South Korea. The T-50A is the company’s aircraft offering in the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Pilot Training (APT) competition. “We now have two aircraft in flight test proving our upgrade, and we’re nearing completion of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lockheeds-second-t-50a-aircraft-for-t-x-competition-takes-flight-67922/

DefenceTalkGen. Hawk Carlisle, the Air Combat Command commander, discussed the importance of air superiority and the need to assure it by modernizing the combat air force during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee in Washington, D.C., July 13. This is the second of two hearings where ACC […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-dominance-and-the-critical-role-of-fifth-generation-fighters-67836/