News
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, supreme leader’s protégé, dies at 63 in helicopter crash
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line protégé of the country’s supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels and launched a major drone-and-missile attack on Israel, has died. He was 63.
Bud Anderson, the last World War II ‘triple ace,’ dies at 102
One of the last masters of the air has died. Brig. Gen. Clarence Emil “Bud” Anderson, credited with downing 16 enemy planes over Europe in World War II, died this past week at his home in Auburn, California. He was 102.
Hundreds pack funeral for slain airman Roger Fortson
Hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues joined Roger Fortson’s family, friends and others at a suburban Atlanta megachurch on Friday to pay their final respects to the Black senior airman, who was shot and killed in his Florida home earlier this month by a sheriff’s deputy.
Drone corps proposal would disrupt US Army plans, says undersecretary
A House committee’s proposal to create a drone corps within the Army may run counter to the service’s push to expand tactics, training and spending for unmanned aerial systems across some operational units, according to an Army official.
Navy lifts operational pause on T-45C Goshawk fleet
The majority of the Navy’s T-45C Goshawk jet trainer fleet is no longer grounded, following an operational pause that followed an engine failure aboard one of the jets on April 12.
Air Force
Air Force special operations boss tapped to run service academy
Air Force special operations boss Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind has been nominated to lead the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. Bauernfeind’s selection by President Joe Biden on Tuesday comes fewer than 18 months after he took over as the head of Air Force Special Operations Command — an unusually brief tenure for a top officer of an Air Force major command.
Air commandos posthumously awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses for CV-22B crash
Air Force Maj. Randell Voas and Senior Master Sgt. JB Lackey gave their lives to save as many people aboard their CV-22B Osprey as possible. Because of their sacrifice, 16 of the 20 people aboard the aircraft survived the crash.
Another dead end for airborne lasers: Air Force scraps effort to mount directed-energy weapon on fighter jet
After years in development, the U.S. militarys latest attempt at an airborne laser weapon to protect troops on the ground from incoming ballistic missiles appears to be headed for the scrapyard.
Gator found on Air Force base renamed ‘MacDill,’ released back into wild
A massive alligator that caused trouble at MacDill Air Force Base in April is back in his natural habitat with a new name.
Officer nominated to lead 16th Air Force, information warfare command
Maj. Gen. Thomas Hensley was nominated to be the next commander of 16th Air Force, a pivotal time for the organization as the Air Force is in the midst of elevating its cyber component, which serves beneath 16th Air Force.
Space Force
Space Force expects first space reserve contracts by year end
Col. Rich Kniseley, who heads up the Space Forces Commercial Space Office, said right now he is targeting mainly space domain awareness for the first CASR contracts.
Veterans
Purple Heart awarded to Korean War veteran 73 years after injury
After 73 years and a long fight with the U.S. Army, a Korean War veteran from Minnesota who was wounded in combat finally got his Purple Heart medal on Friday.
Clarence Sasser, medic in Vietnam battle awarded Medal of Honor, dies at 76
On the morning of Jan. 10, 1968, helicopters from an Army infantry company moved over the Mekong Delta on a reconnaissance sweep of a suspected guerrilla stronghold. Below, fighters allied with North Vietnam waited, hidden on the edges of rice paddies and under the jungle canopy.
Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, finally goes to space 60 years later
Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, finally rocketed into space 60 years later, flying with Jeff Bezos’ rocket company on Sunday. Dwight was an Air Force pilot when President John F. Kennedy championed him as a candidate for NASA’s early astronaut corps. But he wasn’t picked for the 1963 class.
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