DefenceTalkA Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite built by Lockheed Martin was successfully launched today at 7:46 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. atop an Atlas V rocket. Lockheed Martin confirmed signal acquisition shortly after launch. DMSP-19 is the fourth Block 5D-3 version to be launched, and Lockheed Martin has produced more than 40 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/usaf-satellite-launched-today-will-improve-weather-prediction-59226/

DefenceTalkThe top three acquisition priorities for the Air Force are the KC-46A aerial tanker, the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and the Long Range Strike Bomber, officials told members of Congress during a hearing of House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on seapower and projections forces, April 2. “On any given day, the Air Force’s mobility aircraft […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-force-leaders-insist-new-tanker-is-key-to-airpower-59224/

DefenceTalkThe first Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing was officially delivered during a ceremony attended by dignitaries and hundreds of local civic leaders, wing military and civilian members here today. The F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing variant, known as LF 5030, is the first of 144 F-35As scheduled for delivery […]https://www.defencetalk.com/luke-air-force-base-receives-first-f-35a-lightning-ii-59051/

DefenceTalkLUKE AIR FORCE BASE: Escorted by two F-16 fighting Falcons, Luke Air Force Base’s first F-35 Lightning II arrived a little after 11 a.m. March 10, from the Lockheed Martin factory in Fort Worth, Texas. “This is a day that has been a long time coming,” Col. John Hanna, the 56th Operations Group commander, said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-f-35-lightning-ii-arrives-at-luke-afb-59005/

DefenceTalkSingapore said Thursday it would replace its aging KC-135R air refueling tankers made by US firm Boeing with Airbus’s A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft. Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told parliament of the decision to acquire the MRTT, which is based on the civilian A330 plane. Ng did not say how many Singapore will […]https://www.defencetalk.com/singapore-to-buy-airbus-refueling-tankers-for-air-force-58959/

DefenceTalkTRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan: The Transit Center’s final aerial refueling mission over Afghanistan landed here Feb. 24, completing the end of an era. After six hours of traveling, refueling A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and F-16 Fighting Falcons, the KC-135 Stratotanker touched down to a fanfare of saluting Airmen. Col. Mike Seiler, the 376th Expeditionary Operations […]https://www.defencetalk.com/manas-kc-135s-complete-final-mission-leave-kyrgyzstan-58895/

DefenceTalkAfter more than a year of modification maintenance, the newly created AC-130J Ghostrider took to the sky for the first time as a gunship here Jan. 31. In early January 2013, the Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130J Commando II arrived here to begin the modification process with the goal of creating a “best of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-ac-130j-completes-first-test-flight-50678/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Air Force will get its first look at a faster, more affordable way to replace obsolete avionics on the B-2 stealth bomber under a contract awarded last August to Northrop Grumman. Under the 43-month, $43.5 million award, the company will produce a functional replacement for a B-2 avionics box called the Audio Central […]https://www.defencetalk.com/a-faster-simpler-way-to-replace-obsolete-parts-for-b-2-bomber-50667/

DefenceTalkAfter meeting with thousands of Airmen in the ICBM community, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said she believes there is a systemic problem among missile launch officers. James and Lt. Gen. Stephen W. Wilson, the commander of the Global Strike Command, briefed the press Jan. 30, as part of the on-going examination of this […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-force-officials-address-systemic-problems-in-icbm-force-50213/

DefenceTalkOnce upon a time, Israel was concerned about the possibility of a ground invasion of enemy armies into Israeli territory. The Middle East has since undergone significant change; the battlefield of today and of the future, with which the IDF must contend, is quite different. Consequently, the IDF and the IAF must also change and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-air-force-prepares-for-future-battlefield-50149/