DefenceTalkMore than 180 Airmen from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, and 12 F-15C Eagles flew to Graf Ignatievo Air Base, near Plovdiv, Bulgaria, to participate in a bilateral training event, Thracian Eagle 2014, Aug. 18-Sep. 1. Pilots from the 493rd Fighter Squadron, maintainers and a mixture of other professions, including Airmen from Ramstein Air Base, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-deploys-f-15s-to-bulgaria-60393/

DefenceTalkU.S. Air Force officials recently removed 82 two-seat F-16D Fighting Falcons from flight status due to the discovery of canopy sill longeron cracks found between the front and rear pilot seats. The cracks were discovered following an immediate action time compliance technical order, or TCTO, to inspect all F-16D due to initial structural cracks discovered […]https://www.defencetalk.com/82-f-16ds-removed-from-flight-status-due-to-longeron-cracks-60364/

DefenceTalkThe first 389th Fighter Squadron F-15E Strike Eagle received a Radar Modernization Program, or RMP, upgrade here in June. The inaugural flight with the new radar system was flown by Capt. Matthew Riley, a 389th Fighter Squadron pilot, and Maj. Jacob Lindaman, a 389th FS weapon systems officer. “The new radar system does everything faster, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-15e-takes-first-flight-with-new-radar-system-60205/

DefenceTalkThe 26 Air Force F-35s Lightning II joint strike fighters assigned here returned to limited flight operations July 17 with the approval of commanders and Air Force airworthiness authorities. The decision to return to flight was coordinated between the F-35 Joint Program Office, Air Combat Command, Air Education and Training Command and Air Force Materiel […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35s-return-to-limited-flight-operations-60207/

DefenceTalkSikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract to develop new combat search and rescue helicopters. Sikorsky will develop a derivative of the UH-60M Black Hawk model for the Air Force’s rescue mission. The award of an estimated $1.28 billion Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract includes […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sikorsky-to-develop-us-air-force-new-combat-rescue-helicopter-59983/

DefenceTalkAccording to Air Force sources, the service is suffering from an inferiority complex. It doesn’t get enough respect and recognition for the things it likes to do – flying fighters and dropping ordnance – and receives too many demands for the things it must do but doesn’t like doing as much – airborne ISR, transportation, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/message-to-the-us-air-force-it-is-better-to-be-feared-than-loved-59737/

DefenceTalkAir Force Global Strike Command took delivery of a significantly enhanced Boeing B-52H Stratofortress in a ceremony here, April 25. The B-52H spent the previous 10 months at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., being refitted with the Combat Network Communications Technology, or CONECT, upgrade. This modification is designed to greatly improve the aircraft’s utility in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/usaf-gets-first-upgraded-b-52h-bomber-59455/

DefenceTalkThe Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s F-22 Division is on-track to complete installation of the Automatic Back-up Oxygen System, or ABOS, in the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor combat fleet by December 2014. In January 2012, following a series of incidents in which a number of F-22 pilots experienced physiological symptoms in flight, the Air […]https://www.defencetalk.com/installation-of-backup-oxygen-system-in-f-22-combat-fleet-continues-59308/

DefenceTalkThe F-35 Lightning II will enhance combat capabilities, project U.S. power and deter potential adversaries, Air Force officials told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on tactical air and land forces in a hearing on tactical aircraft programs there, April 8. “The F-35 will form the backbone of U.S. air combat superiority for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-on-time-to-replace-previous-tactical-aircraft-59292/

DefenceTalkTwo B-52 Stratofortresses from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and two B-2 Spirit bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., recently flew non-stop from their home stations to training ranges in Hawaii to exercise the president’s credible and flexible military options to meet national security obligations to the U.S. and its allies. Part of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/usaf-bombers-train-on-long-range-capabilities-59238/