April 11, 2014, HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFNS) - An important milestone was recently reached on a significant upgrade improving capabilities for the Airborne Warning and Control System, better known as AWACS. The 40/45 block upgrade is the largest modification on the U.S. AWACS fleet. It provides a complete replacement of mission computer systems - some of which were … [Read more...]

April 11, 2014, WASHINGTON (AFNS) - Air Force readiness is critical, especially as the time or place of the next crisis is never certain and is rarely what was expected, the Air Force vice chief of staff told a House panel April 10. The range, speed and agility of the Air Force enables it to respond in hours, not days, when called upon, Gen. Larry O. Spencer told members of … [Read more...]

April 11, 2014, WASHINGTON (AFNS) - The fiscal and security challenges triggered by budgetary constraints are posing problems for Air Force strategy, the service’s secretary told the Senate Armed Services Committee April 10. Deborah Lee James said tomorrow’s Air Force requires investing in the right technologies and platforms to be prepared to operate in a … [Read more...]

April 10, 2014, WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) - The 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 … [Read more...]

April 9, 2014, WASHINGTON (AFNS) - A limited number of Airmen who received notice that their previously approved applications for early retirement had been declined will be given the option to retire if they still desire to do so, officials announced April 8. “We are aware that some Airmen received erroneous (temporary early retirement authority) approvals and were … [Read more...]