Air Force U S

The Air Force will probably order dozens of its F-15 fighter jets permanently grounded because of crucial structural flaws, significantly reducing the number of planes available to protect the United States, officials said Tuesday. After one of the jets broke apart during a simulated dogfight in November, Air Force officials grounded the entire F-15 fleet, nearly 700 planes in all, fearing such a defect.

The Air Force is reviewing decades-old contracts to determine whether manufacturers of U.S. fighter jets bear responsibility for a defect that caused one of the planes to break apart in flight late last year, officials said Thursday. An investigation of the November crash of an F-15 showed that one of several support beams in the plane was thinner than design specifications required. That faulty part caused a failure that split the plane in two.

The competition for the Pentagon's biggest contract in years intensified Monday as European aircraft maker Airbus said it would assemble commercial jets in the U.S. if it won the $40 -billion award to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. The announcement marks the latest effort by Airbus and its partner Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp. to upset rival Boeing Co. to build the planes that would be used to refuel fighters and bombers in midair.

The Air Force's top officer on Thursday presented a new strategic plan for the service that warns the U.S. cannot ignore "ascendant powers" seeking to challenge American military superiority as it fights low-intensity wars elsewhere. In his new plan, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, did not name specific countries as potential challengers. But at a formal presentation, Moseley singled out military spending in Russia and China, noting both are rising at a rapid clip.

In an intensifying dispute over weapons priorities, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Thursday privately rebuked a four-star general for suggesting the Air Force intended to buy twice as many sophisticated F-22 Raptor aircraft as the Bush administration had approved, according to Air Force officials. One senior defense official called the remarks by Gen.

The top two officials of the Air Force on Friday disowned comments made earlier this week by a four-star general who implied the service was at odds with the Bush administration over purchases of sophisticated new F-22 fighters. Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, and Michael W. Wynne, the Air Force secretary and top civilian official, said the general's remarks "misrepresent the position of the U.S.

Boeing Co. said Friday that it would seriously consider challenging a U.S. Air Force decision to give a $40-billion aerial tanker program to a team that includes its European archrival Airbus. After receiving an Air Force briefing on the victory of Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp.

In a high-stakes rivalry pitting two of the world's largest defense contractors, Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp. gambled and won. The word came down Feb. 29 from the Air Force that a $40-billion contract for aerial refueling tankers would go to Northrop and its partner, Airbus, a unit of Netherlands-based European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. Shut out was rival Boeing Co., which thought it had a winner.

Troubling images flash across the screen, showing black-clad terrorists, tsunami-flooded villages and the Chinese army. "Only the United States Air Force has the speed, power and vision to defend our nation for the century ahead," the announcer intones as an F-22 fighter jet flies over a snowy mountaintop. "U.S. Air Force, above all." There is nothing unusual about seeing military recruiting ads right now.

Air Force representatives met last week with the chief executives of Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. to voice concern about the vitriolic tone of public statements over a $35-billion program for aerial refueling planes, two sources briefed about the meeting said Monday. The Air Force surprised the industry by awarding the contract for new tankers to Century City-based Northrop and its European partner, EADS. The decision triggered protests from Boeing and its supporters in Congress.