Air Force

Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh III is being tapped to replace Gen. Norton Schwartz as Air Force chief of staff, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Thursday.

Panetta said at a Pentagon press briefing Thursday that President Obama had selected Welsh to replace the retiring Schwartz.

Welsh, who must be confirmed by the Senate, is currently the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, a job he’s held since December 2010. Schwartz is planning to retire this summer.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said Tuesday he wants to ensure that the pilots who spoke out publicly about safety concerns on the Air Force's F-22 Raptor fighter jet don't "have their wings taken away" or face administrative action as a result.

The Air Force's rush to get critical combat aircraft into the hands of Afghan forces could end up endangering both American trainers and Afghan pilots. 

A pair of F-22 pilots are going on “60 Minutes” Sunday to speak out about why they won't fly the fighter plane.

The two pilots say they are not the only ones who have chosen not to fly the F-22 Raptor, which was grounded after incidents where pilots suffered from oxygen deprivation.

The Air Force has resumed flying the planes, despite not being able to find a “root cause” after an investigation into the oxygen-deprivation issue, known as hypoxia.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz warned the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that if Congress restores aircraft that the Pentagon wanted to scuttle, it’s got to pony up the money that goes with it.

“If you give us force structure back, give us the money, too, because the quickest way I know to a hollow force is to give us structure and no money. It’s simple as that,” Schwartz said during a forum at the Stimson Center Tuesday.

The House Armed Services Committee is looking to block the Pentagon’s plan to retire one version of the Global Hawk drone.

The Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee’s portion of the defense authorization bill would “require the Secretary of the Air Force to take all actions necessary” to keep the RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aircraft operational through the end of 2014, according to documents released Thursday by House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.).

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers on Thursday questioned the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to test allowing drones to fly beside commercial airplanes in U.S. airspace.

The FAA is planning a pilot program that would allow unmanned aircraft to fly in six test sites. The agency said last month that the information from the test sites will be helpful in the full integration of unnamed aircraft into the U.S. aviation system.

But Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said in a letter to to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta Thursday that the agency should produce information about how it plans to protect the privacy of American citizens if drone use is increased.

"As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement March 7, 2012, 'Unmanned aircraft can help us meet a number of challenges, from spotting wildfires to assessing natural disasters,' " the lawmakers wrote.

"However, in addition to benefits, there is also potential for drone technology to enable invasive and pervasive surveillance without adequate privacy protections," the letter continued. "We are writing to express our concerns about the law's potential privacy implications and to requisition information about how the FAA is addressing these important matters." 

The Air Force on Friday said it is amending its proposal for a disputed light air support contract, delaying the delivery of the planes to the Afghan army by 15 months.

Air Force officials will meet on Tuesday with the two companies that initially bid on the $355 million contract, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Hawker Beechcraft, to explain the amended contract.

The Air Force had initially awarded the contract for 20 light attack aircraft for the Afghan army to Sierra Nevada and its partner, Brazilian company Embraer, after disqualifying Hawker Beechcraft’s proposal.

President Dilma Rousseff lobbied President Obama on a military contract dispute that’s become a sore spot for Embraer.

If DOD decides to begin a new round of base closures to save department dollars over the next decade, the Air Force should be ready.