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☆ Photo hints a big US Air Force Reaper drone competition was focused on one of China's fake islands in the South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA newly released photo suggests a recent US Air Force Reaper combat drone event appears to have been focused to some degree on an artificial Chinese island in the South China Sea. AdvertisementOne of the screens featured a map of Mischief Reef and the surrounding area in the contested Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. The South China Sea has long been a source of tension between the US and China, as well as a number of other Indo-Pacific nations. AdvertisementSatellite imagery of the Mischief Reef in the South China Sea. "Air Force Special Operations Command is focused on specialized air power," said Col. Mark Jones, AFSOC concepts and capabilities development division chief, in the Wednesday release.

Persons: —, Thomas Shoal, Deanna Muir, Deanna Muir China, Mark Jones Organizations: Service, US Air Force, Wing, Business, Air Force, Operations, Squadron, Technologies, Air Force Special, Command Locations: South China, Florida, Spratly, Philippines, Beijing, China, Washington

The since-fired Florida sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot an Air Force senior airman in his home in May has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Friday. Eddie Duran, formerly of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, shot Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson multiple times May 3 after Fortson opened the door of his Fort Walton Beach apartment. At a news conference last week, Roger Fortson’s parents called on State Attorney Ginger Bowden to charge Duran. It still hurts.”Duran joined the sheriff’s office in 2019 and resigned in November 2021. Days after the firing was announced, they implored authorities to act swiftly and charge Duran.

Persons: Florida, Gregory Anchors, Eddie Duran, Roger Fortson, Fortson, Duran, Roger Fortson’s, Attorney Ginger Bowden, “, Chantemekki Fortson, ” Duran, Sheriff Eric Aden, ” Aden, Fortson’s, Andre, Andre Fortson Organizations: Air Force, Sheriff’s, Fort, Attorney, Florida Panhandle Locations: Okaloosa County, Okaloosa, Fort Walton Beach, Aden, Atlanta, DeKalb County, Florida

☆ South Korea: Flying aboard the AC-130J Ghostrider, carrying America’s biggest gun in the sky
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Brad Lendon | Mike Valerio | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

AC-130 gunners Joe Gipson (back) and Isaac Dowell tend the 105mm cannon aboard a US Air Force AC-130J during a live-fire exercise over South Korea. A 105mm howitzer is seen at the rear of a US Air Force AC-130J at Osan Air Base, South Korea, in early June 2024. ‘Spooky’ historyUS Air Force gunships trace their lineage back to the Vietnam War, when the service set up 7.62 mm guns to fire out one side of a C-47 transport aircraft. With the AC-130J model, introduced in 2017, the Air Force removed the machine guns in favor of the more precision-guided munitions. The AC-130’s crew acknowledges the dangers of ground fire to their aircraft, and some analysts question its usefulness in any potential conflict with North Korea.

Persons: Ghostrider, Joe Gipson, Isaac Dowell, Brad Lendon, John Ikenberry, Kim Jong Un, ” Ikenberry, Heath Curtis, Mike Valerio, Curtis, ”, Justin Burris, Peter Layton, Layton, Maj, Christopher Mesnard, CNN’s Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae Organizations: Korean Peninsula CNN, US Air Force AC, CNN, Air Force Special Operations Command, US Air Force, Osan Air Base, South, Air Force, National Museum of, Operation, US, Griffith Asia Institute, Royal Australian Air Force, Operations Command Locations: Hurlburt Field, Florida, South Korea, Seoul, North Korea, Washington, Korea, Maj, New Mexico, United States, Vietnam, Asia, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kunduz, Iraqi, Persian, Khafji, Saudi Arabia, Korean, Australia, Operations Command Korea

☆ A Florida deputy who fatally shot a 23-year-old airman in his home may have been in the wrong apartment, witness says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Thomas Novelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"The circumstances surrounding Roger's death raise serious questions that demand immediate answers from authorities, especially considering the alarming witness statement that the police entered the wrong apartment," Crump said. AdvertisementThis photo provided by the US Air Force shows Senior Airman Roger Fortson. US Air Force via APThe sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the attorney's claims. He reportedly said, "I can't breathe" while on the ground after being shot, Crump said, repeating a witness account of the event. Chantimekki Fortson, mother of Roger Fortson, a US Air Force airman, is comforted as she speaks about her son during a news conference regarding his death.

Persons: —, Roger Fortson, Ben Crump, Fortson, Crump, Roger, GulfLive.com, Chantimekki Fortson, Gerald Herbert, Military.com, Eric Aden Organizations: Service, Special Operations, Business, Sheriff's, US Air Force, AP, Air Force, Florida Department of Law Locations: Florida, Fortson's, Okaloosa, Okaloosa County, Aden

☆ The US Air Force's plan to give its biggest planes new missions has gotten China's attention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

US Air Force officials say they're pursuing a plan to drop "palletized effects" from cargo planes. Minihan said "palletized effects" could include much more than just "kinetic effects" like missiles. There's other kinetic effects, non-kinetic effects, jammers, that if it can fit in the back and can be air-launched" then it could be employed to deliver "decisive effects," Bauernfeind said. "When it comes to palletized effects, I'm not looking for big modifications. AdvertisementAdvertisementA palletized effects system in the air during a live-fire test in Norway in November 2022.

Persons: It's, Brandon Esau, Mike Minihan, Minihan, Tony Bauernfeind, Bauernfeind, Brandon Esau Minihan, Derek Solen, Solen, Brigette, Brigette Waltermire Solen Organizations: US Air Force, Service, Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Special, Command, Air Mobility Command, Staff, Air and Space Forces, Washington DC, Air Force Special Operations Command, China National Defense, PLA, Communist, Military Commission, US Air, China Aerospace Studies, Science, US Air National Guard / Tech Locations: Wall, Silicon, China, Florida, Norwegian, Norway

CNN —Three US Marines who died when their Osprey aircraft crashed during a military exercise in Australia have been identified by their unit. Air Force CV-22 Ospreys take off from Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, for a training mission. April 8, 2010: US Air Force Osprey crashes in southern Afghanistan, killing three US service members and one civilian employee. August 5, 2017: An MV-22B Osprey crashes off the coast of Australia, leaving three Marines dead. June 8, 2022: Five US Marines die after an MV-22 Osprey crashes during a training mission Wednesday near Glamis, California.

Persons: Corporal Spencer R, Captain Eleanor V, Major Tobin J, Lewis, Collart, LeBeau, “, ”, Brendan Sullivan, Lloyd Austin, Michael Murphy, Sullivan, ” Sullivan, Markus Maier, Samuel King An, Barack Obama, Zachary Dyer, Laura Yahemiak Sailors, George Washington, Supertyphoon Haiyan, Trevor Welsh, stow, Smith, drogue, Christopher Carranza An, Todd F, Lance Cpl, Christopher Mendoza Sailors, Richard, Kevin V, Jonathan Snyder, Cedric Leighton, Bellows Organizations: CNN, Marines, Osprey, Royal Darwin Hospital, AP US, USMC, Twitter, Marine Osprey, Darwin, Northern Territory Police, Australian Defence Force, Northern, Northern Territory Government, CareFlight Air, Mobile Services, NT Health, Care, Tiwi, Government, Air Force, Ospreys, Kirtland Air Force Base, . Air Force, Staff, Air, Special Operations Squadron, Munitions, Systems, Eglin Air Force Base, Tech, Refueler, Squadron, Marine Helicopter Squadron, KC, 130J, Marine Forces Pacific, Greenland . U.S . Air Force, 3d Marine Expeditionary, U.S . Marine Corps, Tiltrotor, Supertyphoon Haiyan . U.S . Navy, Trevor Welsh Sailors, U.S . Navy, Shannon, Travis Air Force Base, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, . Marine Corps, Michalek, Moron Air Base, Cunningham, Tactics Squadron, of, U.S . Air Force, US Air Force, “ CNN, US Defense Department, An Air Force, Corps Locations: Australia, Melville, Northern Territory, New Mexico, Florida, Philippines, VMM, Okinawa, Japan, Brisbane, Greenland . U.S, U.S, Supertyphoon Haiyan ., San Francisco, New York, Michalek U.S, Africa, Spain, Sigonella, Italy, Field, Hamilton Island, United States, Virginia, Arizona, North Carolina, Afghanistan, Morocco, Navarre , Florida, Oahu, Hawaii, Syria, Norway, Glamis , California

☆ US Air Force special operators turned cargo planes into bombers. Now they're showing other militaries how it's done.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One effort involving Air Force Special Operations Command is modifying cargo planes to drop bombs. Other air forces could easily deploy those weapons from their cargo planes, the head of AFSOC said. A major part of that effort has been repurposing its largest aircraft, cargo planes and tankers, for other missions. Brandon EsauThe Air Force has been contemplating how to deploy more firepower with its existing fleet for nearly a decade. US Air Force Special Operations CommandAFSOC is looking to add other capabilities to its MC-130s as well.

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