AFMC Command News

  • C-17 performs final drop in Falcon SLV test phase

    Sometimes, test programs have added benefits on top of the intended goal, as was the case when testers here completed the third and final test in phase 2B of the Falcon Small Launch Vehicle program July 26. The Falcon SLV program is a joint effort between the Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research

  • Hill Airmen put life-saving training to use

    Lt. Col. Chris Luedtke, 75th Mission Support Group deputy commander, was walking to his gate at the Philadelphia International Airport when he heard a commotion nearby. He heard that somebody was in trouble, so he went over to see what was happening. "Nobody seemed to know what to do, so I took

  • Five personnel centers scheduled for realignment

    In an effort to provide and deliver services in the most effective and efficient way for the Air Force, military officials plan to realign about 170 civilian personnel positions to the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. From the 170 positions, 135 are slated to realign

  • AFMC executive director officiates husband's promotion

    She's the third highest-ranking person and most senior civilian in Air Force Materiel Command. She estimates having officiated more than 100 civilian and military promotion ceremonies, including about two dozen to the rank of colonel. However, none have been quite like the promotion she officiated

  • Global Hawk in demand, passes 10,000 flight hours milestone

    The Global Hawk unmanned aerial system continues to prove its utility and effectiveness in the global war on terror, having flown more than 10,500 flight hours by late July. The Global Hawk achieved 10,000 flight hours in June, with its ratio of combat flying hours to non-combat hours increasing to

  • Thermal barrier coatings research could extend jet engine life

    A team of Princeton University scientists and engineers, funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research here, are paving the way for the development of new and improved thermal barrier coatings (TBC) that could increase the lifetime of jet engines. To make their predictions, the team

  • Nanorice research to focus light on small regions in space

    Using funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research here, a team of engineers, physicists and chemists from Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) have successfully created 'nanorice,' which will be used to focus light on small regions in space. Findings on this nanorice

  • Command/Union Partnership Council assesses initiatives

    Leading his first annual Joint National Labor-Management Meeting, Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander, Air Force Materiel Command, made clear in his opening remarks the value he places on the command's relationship with the American Federation of Government Employees Council 214. "This is a command of

  • AFMC executive director, union reps visit General Electric

    When a General Electric employee at Evendale, Ohio, arrives at work, he or she can hop on a golf cart, navigate through a seven-million square foot facility marked with compasses at every intersection, catch up on the latest news from one of more than 60 super-sized flat screen TVs, and arrive at a

  • Team tests EMI treatments on next generation Global Hawk

    Northrop-Grumman engineers, in conjunction with the 452nd Flight Test Squadron, recently teamed up with the 412th Electronics Warfare Group in the Benefield Anechoic Facility to verify the effectiveness of production level electromagnetic interference mitigation treatments installed on the Global

  • AFMC handbook a 'smart' addition for program managers

    The Department of Defense is constantly looking for ways to reduce the time it takes to get new weapon systems in the hands of the warfighter. The acquisition community at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command here is helping the DoD do just that. The Acquisition Logistics division recently rolled

  • 2007 Force Shaping message released

    Air Force officials recently announced new force-shaping initiatives to be used to meet the required 2007 fiscal year end strength numbers. The new initiatives are designed to bring the officer numbers down as the enlisted end-strength numbers are on target for 2007. Officials said more than 8,000

  • New radio enhances F-15 capability in combat and security

    A new radio being installed in Air Force F-15 aircraft is enhancing the fighter's ability to support the global war on terror and homeland defense missions by enabling aircrews to communicate more effectively with ground troops and civilian aircraft. The fleet is receiving Ultra High Frequency/Very

  • Arnold AFB conducts successful testing of Mars entry vehicle

    A team at the U.S. Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center’s Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 Facility in Silver Spring, Md., recently successfully completed atmospheric entry testing of the aeroshell configuration for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), tentatively due to be launched in 2009 for

  • Ogden Air Logistics Center earns Shingo Gold

    Ogden Air Logistics Center's 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron took a page out of the "Process Improvement Handbook" and earned a Gold Level Shingo Prize for Excellence in the process, July 17.The award, the second highest of four ratings available for excellence in public sector manufacturing,