Hits target from 25,000 ft
Air Force
Concerns Over U.S. Nuclear Security As Officers Leave Blast Door Open
Air Force admits to problems with nuclear arsenal safety procedures
F-35: Blade Bummer
The news that the Pentagon’s fleet of 51 F-35 fighters has been grounded because of a half-inch crack in one of its engine’s turbine blade is one of those problems that can truly be called a teething issue: it’s something that …
Chemical Warfare: Air Force Core Competency
Coming Up Empty-Handed from Davy Jones’ Locker
Last month we noted the efforts of the Navy to come to the Air Force’s aid by diving 18,558 feet deep into the Pacific, off the Japanese coast, for bits of wreckage from a doomed F-16 (the pilot parachuted to safety).
Alas, …
Sequestration is for Sissies: $6.9 Billion More for the F-22
Pentagon officials took to PBS and the Pentagon press room to warn Wednesday about the impending sequester’s impact on military spending.
“We’re really trying to keep on protecting the country and delivering the defense under …
The Picasso of Procurement
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel – and occasional Battleland contributor – Dan Ward not only has a way with words. He is, according to his new The Comic Guide to Improving Defense Acquisitions, also the Picasso of …
Kinder, Gentler War
In the Pentagon’s continuing quest to destroy without hurting, Boeing announced this week that its CHAMP microwave-burst weapon successfully rendered electronic targets useless without wounding anyone.
“We turned science …
Night Time on the Flight Line
Sky King
Retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Dan Hampton flew nearly 4,000 hours – including 726 in combat – in an F-16 during his 20 years in the Air Force. (Battleland has flown about, um, one, including none in combat. Final brave …
Launch Party
This simulated war thing is catching on. For the past 20 years, the U.S. hasn’t exploded a single atomic warhead to see if the stockpile remains potent. Instead, computer simulations under the so-called Stockpile Stewardship …
Subway
Sky-High WiFi
If civilian passengers can now get the Internet on airplanes, shouldn’t troops be able to get it on the battlefield?
The Air Force has just awarded Northrop Grumman a $20 million contract to do just that, by adding new …