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Since World War II, the U.S. military has used air power as a decisive force multiplier to prevail in peacetime and in combat. In fact, "American ground forces have not come under attack from enemy air forces since the Korean War."[1] Usually, the military with the best and most fighter aircraft achieves air superiority (control of the airspace over the operational zone). Accordingly, Air Force leaders consider their air superiority mission their second highest priority, behind only nuclear deterrence.[2] The U.S. military has consistently gone one step further by establishing air supremacy, in which "the opposing air force is incapable...

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2009 – As U.S. forces in Iraq prepare to pull back from most major cities by June 30 according to an agreement with the Iraqi government, U.S. air support will continue to enable and protect security gains made over the past two years, a U.S. commander said in a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable yesterday. Air Force Col. Michael Fantini, commander of the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group, oversees a spectrum of air support missions that include nontraditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; security operations support; high-end precision engagement; airlift of passengers and cargo; and combat search and rescue. His team...

KABUL, June 3, 2009 – The Afghan National Army Air Corps is a vital and rapidly growing component of Afghanistan’s security forces and is building air power to deny terrorists a safe haven in Afghanistan, a U.S. Air Force general here said. Air Force Brig. Gen. Walter D. Givhan, commander of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan’s Combined Airpower Transition Force, waits to launch as a passenger on the first Afghan Army Air Corps Mi-35 mission to fire the 12.7 mm nose gun and 57 mm rockets in more than eight years, May 27, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by...

I received the following via email. "Anyone know anything about this aircraft? I am told it is German, early 30's vintage -- but some of the background suggests the pictures were taken at a later time. Is it real, or was it built for a movie? The designer appears to have not known a whole lot about parasite drag. Could it have been an amphib when the wheels were retracted into the wheel 'pants'? Note the heavy artillery in the last photo. Perhaps the rapid fire rearward pointing cannons also served a dual function: stall recovery! With twelve pullers and...

BETHESDA, Md. – Quentin C. Aanenson, a fighter pilot whose wartime experiences helped millions of television viewers understand World War II, has died. A subject of Ken Burns' documentary "The War" and the producer of his own film a decade earlier, Aanenson died Sunday of cancer at his home in Bethesda, his son, Jerry said. He was 87. "He lived a magnificent life," Jerry Aanenson said. "He said if he had a chance to be 15 again, he wouldn't take it." The native of Luverne, Minn., flew 75 combat missions in Europe as a captain in P-47 Thunderbolt fighters. His...

BAGHDAD, March 23 (KUNA) -- Up to 15 Al-Qaeda operatives were killed Sunday in an air raid by US fighter jets over Diyala district, northeast of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security sources told KUNA that the American planes shelled Al-Qaeda hideouts in the village of Baladros, southeast of Baqouba, Diyala's largest city, killing 15 members of Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, official spokesman for the law implementation plan Major General Qassem Atta said no military attire would be on sale at markets to prevent suicide bombers from impersonating security personnel.

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2007 – Operations in Iraq are putting pressure on insurgents, keeping them off balance and eliminating their safe havens, a senior spokesman there said today. “We have established a degree of tactical momentum … and will continue to build on that momentum,” Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox, deputy spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said during an in-country media roundtable this morning. “We continue to pressure former sanctuaries in the Baghdad belts -- around Ramadi and in and around Baqubah -- denying (al Qaeda in Iraq) freedom of movement and disrupting extremist secret cells while increasing the...

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - A missile-firing helicopter joined the Lebanese army offensive against al-Qaida-inspired militants on Saturday, the second day of a push against Islamic fighters vowing a fight to the death inside a Palestinian refugee camp. Army tanks shelled militant hideouts in the Nahr el-Bared camp by this northern port city, blasting upper floors of buildings where the militants placed snipers. A Lebanese air force helicopter fired two missiles and strafed militant positions in the first use of airpower since fighting began with the Fatah Islam group on May 20. The air attack was an apparent attempt to block an...

29 March 2007 Air powered car provides cost savings A car with an air-compressed engine will be able to drive around 124 miles or eight hours for just under $2. The OneCAT, created by Moteur Development International (MDI) Founder Guy Nègre, can reach a speed of 68 mph and can cover about 124 miles, or eight hours of travel, which is more than double the road coverage of an electric car. When recharging the tank, the car needs to connect to an outlet for three to four hours or attach to an air pump at a gas station for two minutes....

Wild Bill Wilder takes a look at the role of Air Cavalry in the Vietnam War. Upon arriving in Vietnam in the fall of 1965, the proud young sky troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) took a lot of ribbing from the grunts. They ridiculed their “cruising� around in the sky, enjoying a soft army life. In angry defense, a young private, embarrassed, yet intensely proud of his unit and his accomplishments, retorted, “Go to hell! We’re still cavalry!� And they were. It is true that their arrival on the battlefields of Southeast Asia was not heralded by a...

8/21/2006 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- U.S. Army and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan rely on a special team of Air Force officers to help provide airpower at the right time and place. The Air Component Coordination Element, or ACCE, is relatively new to operations involving more than one branch of service and other nations, but supports Combined Joint Task Force-76, which oversees Operation Enduring Freedom. "We help the CJTF planners integrate air and space power into the development of their campaign plan," said Brig. Gen. Christopher D. Miller, the ACCE director here. According to Air...

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE: The first Air Force reservist chosen to fly the most technologically advanced fighter jet on the planet said his experience with the aircraft so far has been ?eye watering. Maj. Randall W. Cason, an F-16 pilot stationed at 10th Air Force headquarters at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Carswell Field, Texas, was selected by the Air Force as the first member of Air Force Reserve Command to fly the F-22A Raptor. Fighting an F-22 is like being blindfolded and trying to hit a pin he said. Its stealth gives it an overwhelming advantage...

From someone in the Navy now retired, living near Pensacola ... after leaving VP47 in 1967, he was the Admin Chief for the Blue Angels... Chief Flora, retired USN... Enjoy the pictures... We see strength in our Military and sadly, we see the Twin Towers. Something I never want to forget. Niagara Falls... so beautiful. I wonder who wins this battle? Ha Anyone know the name of the old sailing vessel? What a beauty, not many left. Blue Angels over San Francisco Bay. Watch for Alcatraz prison. Too Close for me... Backoff Buddy. ALCATRAZ AND FRISCO BAY. BIG BIRD COMMING...

The U.S. Air Force is surging ahead with plans to revitalize its bases on Guam from which to project power into the skies over the western Pacific and the islands and continent of Asia.Bombers are already stationed regularly at Andersen Air Force Base on rotation from the United States, as are aerial tankers essential to long range operations. A wing of 48 fighters is on the way. Perhaps most critical will be unmanned surveillance and intelligence aircraft known as Global Hawk that can remain on station for 24 hours at a range of 1200 miles from base.Reconstruction of runways from...

/8/2006 - NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) -- Units from across the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Australia and the United Kingdom gathered here for the second part of the Red Flag 06-1 exercise, which started Feb. 6. More than 130 aircraft and 2,500 personnel will fight and support in a simulated air war over the Nellis Test and Training Range during day and night missions, through Feb. 18. “Red Flag exists mostly because of the Nellis Test and Training Range -- a lot of air space out there, a lot of ground space,” said Maj. Greg Weart, Red...

1/3/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- When Soldiers and Marines call in an air strike on an enemy position, the 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron tracks the airplanes and allocates the airspace for the mission. The squadron, known as Kingpin, is a radar control and identification agency responsible for identifying all aircraft flying in the 270,000 square miles of airspace over Iraq. The unit is deployed in three separate locations in the region. By rapidly identifying air traffic, military or civilian, Kingpin creates a real-time "air picture" that the combined air operation center uses to maintain control of...

11/16/2005 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today’s airpower summary report. Coalition aircraft flew 72 close-air support and armed reconnaissance sorties Nov. 15 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. They included support to coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction activities and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities. Coalition aircraft also supported Iraqi and coalition ground forces operations to create a secure environment for ongoing Transitional National Assembly meetings. Air Force F-15s flew an air strike in the vicinity of Karabilah successfully firing a precision-guided bomb against a building used by anti-Iraqi forces. An Air Force MQ-1...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Airpower was in full effect as aircraft and crews supported Afghanistan’s National Assembly elections Sept. 18 by deterring attacks on the ground. U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II and EC-130H Compass Call aircraft and U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowlers here have stepped up efforts to provide safe and secure conditions as the elections bring Afghanistan one step closer to democracy. Airpower will be a major factor to the success of the elections and the follow-on political process, said Lt. Col. Dave Evans, Operation Enduring Freedom air component coordination element plans officer who is deployed from...

Well before dawn one night in January, several dozen U.S. troops were creeping into position around an insurgent stronghold outside Baghdad when the commander's radio crackled to life: Four Iraqi men were escaping from a house several doors down, carrying weapons. The urgent voice on the radio gave the grid coordinates and a curt message: "I'm watching these guys." That was the pilot of an F-16 streaking in a whisper thousands of feet overhead. Through his infrared targeting system, he could see the insurgents clearly. And he could talk directly to soldiers on the ground: Go down the block, turn...

The Indian military has begun airlifting essential goods to the north-eastern state of Manipur. Organisations representing Naga tribesmen have been blockading a national highway for more than two weeks now. They are demanding that some parts of Manipur be integrated into the neighbouring state of Nagaland. The federal government has rejected the idea saying it is opposed by Manipur's political parties. Last weekend local police tried to break the blockade by force, but the Nagas responded by burning down government buildings in four districts of Manipur where they are in a majority. Limited space Loaded with essential commodities like medicines...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

Thirty years ago Saigon fell. I was a company commander in the 2 nd Battalion, 508 th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82 nd Airborne Division. When our Vietnam veterans cursed the war, I remembered one of the greatest speeches I ever heard - the day the Vietnam peace was announced to my Winter Ranger class in ’73. The senior Ranger Sergeant cursed everything about the Vietnam War and everyone involved, friend or foe, in a poetic rant of imaginative, sincere, foul-mouthed hatred. He swore most passionately about the waste of his buddies’ lives. He blamed everyone and everything he knew to...

Strategy and Air Power By Thomas Donnelly Thomas Donnelly (tdonnelly@aei.org) is a resident fellow in defense and security policy studies at AEI and the author of Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Strategic Assessment(AEI Press, 2004). More than any of the other armed services, the U.S. Air Force approaches the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review with a sense of foreboding. Touted just a few years ago as the shining exemplar of the revolution in military affairs and the new American way of war, the Air Force is today under increasing scrutiny from Congress and the Pentagon to justify its procurement priorities in the...

SAVING THE U.S. AIR FORCE By RALPH PETERS February 11, 2005 -- We need to save the United States Air Force — from itself. This critical component of our national security has become corrupt, wasteful and increasingly irrelevant. The problem doesn't lie with the front-line pilots or ground crews. The cancer is at the top, in the Department of the Air Force and on the Air Force Staff. Consider just a few recent problems: Former Air Force Secretary James G. Roche, who resigned last month to evade a corruption investigation, has just been cited for ethics violations in dealing with...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

The Air Force Association 2005 Statement of Policy adopted by the delegates to the AFA National Convention meeting on Sept. 12, 2004, in Washington, D.C The Constitution of the United States of America gives great powers to the federal government. The first and most important responsibility of the government is to provide for the national defense. Since the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Reorganization Act of 1986, the President has been required to submit a National Security Strategy (NSS) to Congress annually. The NSS articulates the nation’s mid- and long-term national security strategy. The current NSS declares that the President should...

<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- United States must modernize its fighter jets to maintain air supremacy, a top Air Force general said Wednesday citing the success of advanced Russian-made jets against American planes in a recent exercise as signaling an erosion of its overwhelming advantage.</p>

WASHINGTON: Did the Indian Air Force really outperform American pilots and planes during recent India-US air combat exercises or is the USAF using the encounter to pitch for new generation fighter jets? That's the question buzzing around in strategic circles after a recent article in a limited access US Air Force magazine detailing the "surprising sophistication of Indian fighter aircraft and skill of Indian pilots" demonstrated at the Cope India air combat exercise at Gwalior in February this year. The exercise, in which US F-15Cs were said to have been defeated more than 90 per cent of the time in...

IAF bests USAF, US admits 'wake-up call' Thursday, 24 June , 2004, 08:13 Washington: The US Air Force got a "wake-up call" in air-to-air training exercises with India earlier this year that showed the United States can no longer take air superiority for granted in a conflict, a top US general has said. A study of the "Cope India" air exercise, conducted by the US and Indian air forces in Gwalior last February, is secret, said General Hal Hornburg, head of the US Air Forces Air Combat Command. "But we have to learn a lot of things from that," he...

Last Updated: Thursday, 24 June, 2004, 01:20 GMT 02:20 UK War games in India 'show up US' By Nick Childs BBC Pentagon correspondent The success of India's air force against US fighters in an exercise suggests the US may be losing its air superiority, a US general has said. Gen Hal Hornburg said an exercise in February, known as Cope India, had been "a wake-up call". The mock air battles in central India had pitted US F-15s against advanced Russian-designed Sukhoi SU-30s. General Hornburg said the results show the US may not be as far ahead of the rest of...

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - The United States must modernize its fighter jets to maintain air supremacy, a top Air Force general said on Wednesday citing the success of advanced Russian-made jets against American planes in a recent exercise as signaling an erosion of its overwhelming advantage. Gen. Hal Hornburg, head of U.S. Air Combat Command, said a U.S. air-to-air exercise with the Indian Air Force in February, in which India used Russian jets to defeat aging American F-15Cs, revealed "that we may not be as far ahead of the rest of the world as we once thought we were."...

Air Force General Says Other Countries May Soon Be Able to Threaten U.S. Dominance of Skies The Associated Press WASHINGTON June 23, 2004 — The success of the Indian air force against American fighter planes in a recent exercise suggests other countries may soon be able to threaten U.S. military dominance of the skies, a top Air Force general said Wednesday. "We may not be as far ahead of the rest of the world as we thought we were," said Gen. Hal M. Hornburg, the chief of Air Combat Command, which oversees U.S. fighter and bomber wings. The U.S.-India joint...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States must modernize its fighter jets to maintain air supremacy, a top Air Force general said on Wednesday citing the success of advanced Russian-made jets against American planes in a recent exercise as signaling an erosion of its overwhelming advantage. Gen. Hal Hornburg, head of U.S. Air Combat Command, said a U.S. air-to-air exercise with the Indian Air Force in February, in which India used Russian jets to defeat aging American F-15Cs, revealed "that we may not be as far ahead of the rest of the world as we once thought we were." Defense experts...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... . U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. . . Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... . U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. . . Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family...

Powered flight was born exactly one hundred years ago. It changed everything, of course—but most of all, it changed how we wage war. Walter Boyne’s résumé makes for unusual reading. He is the author of 42 books and one of the few people to have had bestsellers on both the fiction and the nonfiction lists of The New York Times. A career Air Force officer who won his wings in 1951, he has flown over 5,000 hours in a score of different aircraft, from a Piper Cub to a B-1B bomber, and he is a command pilot. Boyne retired as...

LAS VEGAS, July 19 — American air war commanders carried out a comprehensive plan to disrupt Iraq's military command and control system before the Iraq war, according to an internal briefing on the conflict by the senior allied air war commander. Called Southern Focus, the plan called for attacks on the network of fiber-optic cable that Saddam Hussein's government used to transmit military communications, as well as airstrikes on key command centers, radars and other key military assets. The strikes, which were conducted from mid-2002 into the first few months of 2003, were justified publicly at the time as a...

Transformation from the War Fighter’s Perspective Col Kurt “Two-Lips” Dittmer, USAF* Editor’s Note: PIREP is aviation shorthand for pilot report. It’s a means for one pilot to pass on current, potentially useful information to other pilots. In the same fashion, we intend to use this department to let readers know about air and space power items of interest. *Colonel Dittmer is chief of Combat Forces Capability Requirements, Headquarters USAF, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. For people who place themselves in harm’s way, it is easy to recognize a "transformational" capability. If you are going to fly a combat sortie into Country X,...

Role of air power in the Iraq conflict and lessons for Pakistan Air Commodore (Retd) JAMAL HUSSAIN discusses what lessons we can draw from Iraq. The On- Going Conflict in Iraq The on-going conflict in Iraq has proven once again, if any further proof was required, the dominance of air power in the modern battlefield. While it may be premature to draw any major conclusions from a conflict that is still raging, the all pervading effect of Coalition air power and its near total absence by the Iraqi forces is too obvious to ignore. Imagine, a force of about a...

MY TITLE above...This is an excerpt... "By Fred Kaplan It was thoroughly predictable that, after the swift victory in Gulf War II, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would wage his next war against the hidebound generals of the U.S. Army. Now that war has begun. Rumsfeld fired his first shots last Thursday night when he let it be known that a man named James G. Roche will be his new secretary of the Army. Roche is an extremely intriguing—and, to any senior Army officer, an equally shocking—candidate for the job. First, he's a 23-year veteran, and retired captain, of the...

Kim Burger JDW Staff Reporter, Nick Cook JDW Aerospace Consultant, Andrew Koch JDW Washington Bureau Chief, Michael Sirak JDW Staff Reporter With the regime of Saddam Hussein soundly defeated by overwhelming military force, coalition leaders are analysing what initial lessons can be drawn from Operation 'Iraqi Freedom'. A high-level Pentagon team is already sifting through the data. The team-members will be aware that their conclusions will be leapt upon by proponents of two quite disparate camps: those who will use the war to bolster the process of the military's transformation from a Cold War-era fighting force to one that is...