05/14/2015: Lt. Col. Christine Mau completed her first training flight in the F-35 Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, making her the first female F-35 pilot. According to a story in the Daily News: The first female F-35 fighter jet pilot took to the skies Tuesday. Lt. Col. Christine…
2015-05-13 The tragic crash of an A400M (MSN 23), a plane for the Turkish Air Force, at Seville on May 9th, 2015 near the final assembly plant, reminds us of how risky the introduction of new systems can be. The plane was due to be delivered to the Turkish Air…
2015-05-12 By Robbin Laird The bomber has a long and distinguished history in first the Army Air Corps and then the US Air Force. When the B-17 was born, it was a controversial aircraft, which proved its worth when Nazi Germany controlled a continent and only the B-17 fleet could…
2015-04-29 John Blackburn retired as an Air Vice-Marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force in 2008 and has been involved in a number of strategic issues since then in Australia. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Sir Richard Williams Foundation, an Australian think tank focused on Air Power.…
2015-05-11 The Royal Australian Air Force has launched a transformation approach called Plan Jericho. The Chief of Staff has underscored that for this to work, the entire defense approach needs to embrace change under the influence of fifth generation warfare capabilities. Apparently, the Minister of Defence agrees with this approach.…
2015-05-07 By Stephen Blank It is long since time to reopen the vexed question of continuing large-scale US intelligence failure. The scope of our continuing failures in this area is too large to ignore and too dangerous to brush aside. Intelligence failures – and there have been many large-scale intelligence…
2015-05-09 The Japanese government has become the first foreign government to purchase the V-22. As of early May, the Department of State has approved an FMS deal with Japan. Japan’s initial buy is for 17 Block C Ospreys, together with spare parts, associated equipment and logistics support. "Japan is modernizing…
05/04/2015: Brigadier General Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, Flies first Wing’s Training Sortie According to a story published on 3/19/15 by the 56th Fighter Wing: The 56th Fighter Wing officially began training new F-35 pilots today when the first student, Brigadier General Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, flew…
