February 20, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Tinker Air Force base readies for B-52 upgrades as engines tested
"The clock's ticking" on the B-52's current engines, an official said, so the Air Force wants to upgrade the bombers as fast as possible.
July 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Coronavirus drives AFA’s massive Air, Space and Cyber conference online
The Air Force Association announced Monday that it will hold its massive Air, Space and Cyber conference virtually this September, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
AFA's annual conference typically draws about 12,000 airmen, civilians, contractors and other attendees to National Harbor, Maryland, and features addresses from major Air Force, Defense Department and industry figures.
For the first time this year, the virtual conference will feature a combination of live and on-demand conference sessions streamed online, beginning Sept. 14 and lasting at least three days.
The events will include live addresses from senior leaders, and will allow viewers to ask questions and engage in other “unique opportunities ... with Air Force, Space Force and industry leadership,” AFA said.
There will also be a virtual exhibit hall to display developments and demonstrations from industry, online meetings and interactive presentations, AFA said.
Retired Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, the president of AFA, said the decision to move the conference online was “extremely arduous.” But with the pandemic still ongoing, he said, it would not be possible to safely host a conference in-person of the quality the association desired.
AFA considered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, state and county directives, and feedback from potential speakers, attendees, sponsors and exhibitors.
“Our goal is to continue AFA's long tradition of hosting the premier event for defense and aerospace professionals around the world,” Wright said in the release. “Our virtual Air, Space and Cyber conference will offer the same exceptional line-up of speakers, world-class exhibits, professional development opportunities, and networking opportunities for industry, government, media, academia and the public.”
Air Force leaders often use their addresses to the AFA conference to make major announcements, such as former Secretary Heather Wilson's 2018 “Air Force We Need” address laying out a plan for a major expansion of the service's operational squadrons.
Past speakers and guests at AFA's conference have included the top leaders of the Air Force, defense secretaries such as Jim Mattis, and Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, who last year helped unveil the name of the T-7A Red Hawk.
Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone, the airman who charged a knife-wielding terrorist on a train in France in 2015, also was celebrated at the conference that year, when the Air Force announced he would be promoted two grades for his heroism.
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December 20, 2022 | International, Land
Major order from a NATO customer
The five years framework contract provides for the delivery of 155mm M2005 V-LAP projectiles, M92 modular charges and various fuzes
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August 2, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Department of Defense Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) - December 2018
The Department of Defense (DoD) has released details on major defense acquisition program cost, schedule, and performance changes since the December 2018 reporting period. This information is based on the comprehensive annual Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) for the first quarter of FY 2019, as updated by the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget submitted to Congress on March 11, 2019. SARs summarize the latest estimates of cost, schedule, and performance status. These reports are prepared annually in conjunction with submission of the President's Budget. Subsequent quarterly exception reports are required only for those programs experiencing unit cost increases of at least 15 percent or schedule delays of at least six months. Quarterly SARs are also submitted for initial reports, final reports, and for programs that are rebaselined at major milestone decisions. The total program acquisition cost estimates provided in the SARs include research and development, procurement, military construction, and acquisition-related operations and maintenance. These totals reflect actual costs to date as well as future anticipated costs. All estimates are shown in fully inflated then-year dollars. The prior current estimate of program acquisition costs for programs covered by SARs for the reporting period for December 2017 (83 programs) was $1,917,840 million. The current estimate for December 2018 (87 programs) is $2,018,684 million. Quantity changes account for the majority of the $101,000 million increase (+$51,000 million), in addition to scope changes (+$18,000 million) and revised indices (+$11,500 million). 16 of the 20 programs with quantity changes are either equal to or underrunning their current baseline costs, as well as 60 of the 84* SARs reporting Unit Cost this SAR cycle overall. To view the full news release and SAR Summary Tables, click here. https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1923492/department-of-defense-selected-acquisition-reports-sars-december-2018/source/GovDelivery/