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It was March 4, 2002. American special operations forces were fighting to establish observation posts high above Afghanistan’s Shah-i-Kot Valley, as conventional troops continued their push through the valley floor below. One of those men, Air Force Technical Sgt. John Chapman, was alone in the pitch-black, wounded and slowly regaining his consciousness in the thigh-deep snow of a 10,469-foot peak known as Takur Ghar, as scores of Al Qaeda fighters closed in. The operators were due to lift-off from their Gardez base around midnight and quietly land near the base of the peak before climbing to the top. But maintenance...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia Joint Base Langley–Eustis (JBLE), composed of Langley Air Force Base and Fort Eustis, is a United States military joint base located in the greater Hampton Roads area of the Tidewater region of Virginia. The installation is the result of the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005, a Congressional initiative to maximize the operational efficiency of 26 military installations nationwide by combining their support functions, contracts and organizations. Unlike other joint bases that share common perimeters, such as Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Joint Base Lewis-McChord in...

US forces have deployed the “Doomsday Plane” amid fears of war with Russia as tensions look ready to snap over Syria. Just after US President Donald Trump told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “get ready” for a missile strike the feared aircraft took to the sky. US forces put a Boeing E-4B Nightwatch plane into the air from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Indiana. The Nightwatch – also known as the Doomsday Plane – is an airborne nuclear war command centre. It would allow the US to maintain a chain of command in the event of a major war and...

An Air Force F-16 jet crashed Wednesday at Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas, defense officials told Fox News. The status of the pilot, or pilots, was not immediately clear. In a statement, the Air Force said, “Emergency responders are on the scene. As soon as additional details become available, they will be provided. The accident is under investigation." The jet crashed around 10:30 a.m. during routine training at Nevada Test and Training Range, officials said.

Jim Roche, then-Secretary of the Air Force, made an announcement on October 26, 2001, that all aviation enthusiasts had been waiting for: a winner had been picked to design and build the Joint Strike Fighter. The American people were assured the new jet would enter service in 2008 and be a high-performance replacement for the military’s aging airframes while only costing between $40 million and $50 million. The F-35 has now entered an unprecedented seventeenth year of continuing redesign, test deficiencies, fixes, schedule slippages, and cost overruns. And it’s still not at the finish line. Numerous missteps along the way—from...

​     ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Vandenberg Air Force Base, CaliforniaVandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located 9.2 miles northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base, with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast using expendable boosters (Pegasus, Taurus, Minotaur, Atlas V, Delta IV and now SpaceX's Falcon). Wing personnel also support the Service's LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force Development Evaluation...

At a U.S. military academy conference on “character and leadership,” one might expect to hear from individuals imparting wisdom and inspiration from their heroic military actions in the face of battle or its aftermath: Medal of Honor recipients, POW survivors, amputees who continue to serve with dignity and valor. Nah, that’s so “old school.” Heroism now, according to the canons of political correctness, is defined by Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner, Ellen DeGeneres, and homosexual activist/figure skater Adam Rippon. They have the “courage” to “be themselves” and defiantly proclaim their valorous individuality. Despite the fact that the American people spoke in November...

Last night the world was close to a military confrontation between two nuclear powers, Russia and the U.S. In an incredibly dangerous incident in the skies over Syria, an American F-22, which is called a stealth fighter, fired what we now know to be warning flares at our attack aircraft Su-25 at close range.

Boeing posted an image today of a Louisiana Air National Guard F-15C wearing a pair of conformal fuel tanks (CFTs). The tanks are part of a new initiative to give the F-15C fleet more gas and weapons carrying capability in order to execute what the Air National Guard calls future "persistent air dominance missions." The 159th Fighter Wing "Bayou Militia" is the first unit to receive the tanks for testing and evaluation. Boeing's Randy Jackson stated the following in an email to the The War Zone: "The first flight with the tanks was achieved in just 10 months after the...

... Besides this being the first time the Heritage Team has done this at the Super Bowl, there’s an interesting mix of aircraft flying over U.S. Bank Stadium. There are four planes representing three generations of aircraft for the flyover: one F-16, two A-10s and a P-51 (more about the planes themselves below). They’ll be flying in a diamond formation with the P-51 out in front, the two A-10s even with each other on the side and the F-16 bringing up the rear. “It’s a really unique formation to take a look at, because you never really get to see...

The author of a memo arguing for a government takeover of development of the nation's 5G mobile network has been removed from the National Security Council staff. The memo's unauthorized release this week caused uproar in the telecom community and created embarrassment for the White House A senior administration official confirmed that Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding is no longer serving as NSC senior director for strategic planning. Spalding was not fired, according to the official, who said his detail had ended and was not renewed. His last day as a White House staffer was Jan. 31. Spalding was...

Air Force One is primed to receive an upgrade that will include new refrigerators expected to cost American taxpayers nearly $24 million. The US Air Force awarded Boeing a $23.6 million contract in December to replace two of the five "cold chiller units" aboard the aircraft used by President Donald Trump.

https://www.flyingmag.com/upcoming-gps-outage-in-western-us-could-mean-back-to-basics Beginning tomorrow, January 26, and running through February 18, GPS-equipped aircraft operating in the Western United States should be prepared for possible satellite signal disruptions at various altitudes. The disruptions may lead to traffic delays and even ground stops. The NBAA Command Center reports the U.S. military will begin training exercises on the Nevada Test and Training Range between 0400Z until 0700Z daily. Training maneuvers will impact vast portions of the Western U.S. including California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana and New Mexico. FAA enroute ATC centers affected include Albuquerque (ZAB), Denver (ZDV), Los Angeles (ZLA), Salt...

A MYSTERIOUS aircraft snapped in a Florida airbase could be the US Air Force’s top-secret hypersonic warplane, according to huge claims. Defence firm Lockheed Martin is understood to be working on a state-of-the-art spy plane for the US Air Force, which could reach over 4,600mph. Google Earth images have now surfaced of an object bearing a startling similarity to artist’s impressions of the plane. The silvery shape was spotted at the end of a runway in the swamplands of the Sunshine State, US. According to Tyler Glockner – who uploaded the clip to his YouTube channel secureteam10 – the area...

A laundry list of provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act will reshape the military space chain of command and oversight of programs. Pentagon and Air Force officials are still grappling with the full extent of the reforms, the most significant of which is the removal of the role of principal Defense Department space adviser from the secretary of the Air Force. "A lot of people focused on the fact that Mike Rogers' idea for a space corps didn't happen, and they missed that a lot of reform did go into this bill," Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the...

After 68 years in the aerospace industry, and having a hand in producing every single C-17 in the Air Force’s inventory, an original Rosie the Riveter got her first flight in one on Monday. Elinor Otto, 98, took to the skies in a C-17 she riveted at March ARB, Calif., in a ceremonial flight flown by Air Mobility Command head Gen. Carlton Everhart. “You are a true inspiration,” Everhart said. “In the day and age where quicker, faster, more is the goal, and job hopping is the norm, it’s inspiring to hear a story about hard work and dedication that...

A man has been arrested after apparently trying to drive through a base used by the US Air Force in Suffolk. Shots were fired by US personnel before the man was detained at RAF Mildenhall. He suffered cuts and bruises and is now in custody of Suffolk Police. The base was temporarily put into lockdown as police responded to reports of what they called a "significant incident." The incident is not thought to be terror related.

A man has been arrested and the National Police Air Service helicopter was dispatched to the base. The incident reportedly started at the base’s main gate. Police describe the event as “a significant incident.”

The commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds has been relieved of command due to loss of confidence in his leadership, the service announced. With the season complete, Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing commander, relieved Lt. Col. Jason Heard of overseeing the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, Air Combat Command said in a release.

Army leaders decided this was a good time to highlight space because activities are growing and the Army wants to attract more officers to the space career field known as Functional Area 40, or FA40. Over the past year, Army space forces supported more than 16 exercises for every geographic combatant command except U.S. Africa Command. Soldiers are picked for the FA40 career field after a competitive selection process through the "voluntary transfer incentive program," which can occur at the four-year mark of a soldier's career. Besides their technical abilities, soldiers applying for the FA40 are evaluated based on their...