Air Force – News Stories About Air Force - Page 9

Pentagon to Re-Open $35B Air Force Tanker Bid

Jul 9, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

Pentagon to Re-Open $35B Air Force Tanker Bid

(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...

Nuclear Parts Still Missing: Pentagon Report

Jun 19, 2008 2:24 PM CDT

Nuclear Parts Still Missing: Pentagon Report

Sensitive components remain unaccounted for in mess that cost Air Force brass jobs

(Newser) - The investigation that resulted in the dismissal of top US Air Force brass two weeks ago also found that hundreds of nuclear-missile parts remain missing, the Financial Times reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon needed "to re-establish positive control of these sensitive, classified components" in announcing the...

Tough Calls Await on Boeing Defense Bid

Jun 12, 2008 3:24 PM CDT

Tough Calls Await on Boeing Defense Bid

CEO can fold if feds deny appeal on tanker, or ramp up lobbying

(Newser) - The Government Accountability Office must rule by next Thursday on Boeing’s appeal of an Air Force deal granting European rival Airbus a multi-billion dollar tanker contract—and CEO Jim McNerney has a tough call ahead if Boeing loses, the Seattle Times reports. He can ground the appeal, or draw...

US 'Learning as We Go'
in Iraq, Says Bush

May 28, 2008 5:59 PM CDT

US 'Learning as We Go' in Iraq, Says Bush

President compares war on terrorism to war on fascism and communism

(Newser) - President Bush said today the US is "learning as we go" in trying to bring democracy to Iraq and urged Americans not to lose faith. Delivering the commencement address at the Air Force Academy, Bush likened today's campaign against Islamic extremism to the fight against fascism of last century,...

US Preparing Iran War Plans

Apr 25, 2008 2:40 PM CDT

US Preparing Iran War Plans

Attack isn't imminent, Joint Chiefs chair says, but US has capability

(Newser) - The US is preparing for a potential military action against Iran, the nation’s top military official said today. Such an attack would be “extremely stressing” on the military, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, but it is on the table if a diplomatic solution can’...

Gates to USAF: Straighten Up and Fly Right

Apr 21, 2008 4:46 PM CDT

Gates to USAF: Straighten Up and Fly Right

Defense sec criticizes service for being slow to adapt to change

(Newser) - Robert Gates chided the Air Force today for being slow to change and for not providing enough help in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Addressing American and international student officers in Alabama, the defense secretary said getting the USAF to adapt, particularly in the use of drone aircraft, has...

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military

OPINION

Mar 31, 2008 3:39 PM CDT

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military

Budget woes aren't the only defense issue facing White House's next denizen

(Newser) - Has President Bush done irreparable damage to our armed forces? Not necessarily, Phillip Carter and Fred Kaplan write in Slate, offering a to-do list for the next president to tackle as he or she begins the process of fixing a military "in strange shambles."

Overhaul the budget: "

...

Congress Will
Nix Airbus Deal,
Boeing Says

Mar 19, 2008 6:44 AM CDT

Congress Will Nix Airbus Deal, Boeing Says

US firm blasts 'unfair' award of Air Force contract to Europeans

(Newser) - Boeing isn't taking its loss of a $35 billion military contract to Northrop Grumman and Airbus lying down, Reuters reports. A company vice president said he was "as confident as he could be" that Congress would overturn the Air Force's decision to buy refueling tankers from Boeing's European rival....

Boeing to Appeal $40B Contract

Mar 10, 2008 8:09 PM CDT

Boeing to Appeal $40B Contract

CEO claims 'serious flaws' in bidding

(Newser) - Boeing vowed today to appeal a controversial $40 billion contract to build refueling tankers for the Air Force, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Our team has taken a very close look at the tanker decision and found serious flaws in the process," Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said. The...

Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly

OPINION

Mar 9, 2008 9:45 AM CDT

Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly

Lawmakers are angry, but making aircraft giant compete is a good thing

(Newser) - There’s fury on Capitol Hill (and the campaign trail) over a $40 billion Air Force contract going to a European team, Mark Thompson notes in Time, but it’s entirely appropriate for the military to get the best technology it can. Indeed, anger over the snub to Boeing shows...

Stunned Boeing Presses USAF to Explain Choice

Mar 4, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Stunned Boeing Presses USAF to Explain Choice

Scheduled debriefing not soon enough for jilted company

(Newser) - Boeing is calling for an “immediate debriefing” on the Air Force's choice of a foreign company to build its fuel tankers, Bloomberg reports. The selection of Airbus and Northrop Grumman is to be the subject of a scheduled March 12 meeting, but Boeing says that isn’t protocol. “...

US, Euro Alliance Landed Air Force Deal for Airbus

Mar 3, 2008 4:00 AM CST

US, Euro Alliance Landed Air Force Deal for Airbus

$40B contact took years of careful planning

(Newser) - Years of careful strategy and an alliance between executives was the key to Airbus nailing a $40 billion deal to build Air Force planes, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Pentagon’s decision last week is “a transformational shift in the way weapons systems are acquired. It’s an...

Boeing Stunned, Angry Over Bid

Mar 1, 2008 7:08 PM CST

Boeing Stunned, Angry Over Bid

Mobile, Ala. rep thrilled over promised tanker facility

(Newser) - From lawmakers to Boeing workers, Washington state is outraged today that the Air Force handed a $35 billion contract to foreign firm Airbus and Northrop Grumman, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. One worker called it "a sad day for Boeing," and a senior senator blasted the Air Force for...

UFOs? Air Force Says Nope

Jan 23, 2008 7:32 PM CST

UFOs? Air Force Says Nope

Not so fast, say scores of witnesses

(Newser) - Those mysterious lights flitting across the Texas sky earlier this month were military jet fighters, not alien ships, the Air Force said today. The lights prompted dozens of reports of UFO sightings, and the mystery grew when the military initially said it had no aircraft in the area. Today, the...

When Bird Meets Plane,
Air Force
Takes Action

Jan 4, 2008 5:28 PM CST

When Bird Meets Plane, Air Force Takes Action

It studies spatters to avoid collisions

(Newser) - When a bird smacks into a military plane, it is not a pretty picture, neither for bird nor plane. It is, however, a serious, if messy, problem, and one that jeopardizes the safety of pilots and some very expensive Air Force hardware. The Wall Street Journal visits a base in...

College Suicide Prevention Trumps Privacy

Dec 28, 2007 12:15 PM CST

College Suicide Prevention Trumps Privacy

Cornell seeks signs of student anxiety, brings parents into loop

(Newser) - After the Virginia Tech massacre highlighted the issue of student safety, more colleges began risking legal action by telling parents when their kids suffer from mental health problems, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cornell University, battling a reputation for stressed-out students, is now training staff to seek out and report...

F-15 Fleet Grounded After Crash

Nov 6, 2007 4:00 AM CST

F-15 Fleet Grounded After Crash

Officials worry structural defect may have triggered accident

(Newser) - The US Air Force has grounded all 676 F-15 fighter jets after a plane flown by a member of the Missouri Air National Guard crashed last week during a training exercise. Investigators believe the crash may have been caused by a structural defect. A pilot whose name was not...

Alaska Elephant Retires to SoCal

Nov 1, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Alaska Elephant Retires to SoCal

US Air Force enlisted to fly pachyderm Maggie south

(Newser) - Maggie, Alaska's only elephant, is leaving Anchorage for California, where the 25-year-old is expected to enjoy warmer climes and the company of fellow pachyderms. With no commercial plane large enough, the US Air Force will handle transportation. Zoo officials were initially loathe to give her up, but acquiesced after two...

Packers Great Max McGee Dies

Oct 21, 2007 9:50 PM CDT

Packers Great Max McGee Dies

McGee scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history

(Newser) - Max McGee, the Green Bay Packer legend who scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history, died yesterday after falling from the roof of his Minnesota home. McGee played 12 seasons with the Cheeseheads and served two years in the Air Force, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says. The Nevada native...

USAF Officers Take Rap for Missing Nukes

Oct 19, 2007 5:50 PM CDT

USAF Officers Take Rap for Missing Nukes

Top commanders relieved of duty after warheads take unauthorized flight

(Newser) - Nearly 2 months after a B-52 loaded with nuclear warheads took an unauthorized flight from North Dakota to Louisiana, the Air Force has relieved four officers of duty, CNN reports. After a 6-week investigation, 70 airmen will be disciplined for what the Air Force secretary called an "unacceptable mistake...