John Reed

John Reed was an associate editor at Inside Defense until October 2009.

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Daily News | October 2, 2009

The Pentagon's top weapons buyer this week ordered the Air Force to continue funding a program that provides badly needed new engines to the E-8 Joint Surveillance Targeting and Attack Radar System.

Daily News | September 24, 2009

Asserting they have adjusted the KC-X acquisition strategy, Pentagon officials told lawmakers and staff members this morning about their new "best value" approach to awarding a $35 billion contract to replace the Air Force's KC-135 tanker fleet.

Daily News | September 22, 2009

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) today said he would consider modifying the defense spending bill this year to demand that the Air Force take a recent World Trade Organization ruling against Airbus into account in the latest round of the $35 billion KC-X tanker competition, which is expected to kick off this week.

Daily News | September 9, 2009

The Senate Appropriations Committee intends to include a provision in its version of the fiscal year 2010 defense budget encouraging the Air Force to develop an exportable version of the Lockheed Martin F-22A fighter, according to documents obtained by Inside the Air Force.

Daily News | July 29, 2009

Air National Guard chief Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt today laid out the Guard's position on the Pentagon's ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review, calling for an increased focus on defending the continental United States from a variety of threats.

Daily News | June 24, 2009

House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) today called the Air Force's aging tactical aviation fleet a "major problem" with no easily defined solution.

The Insider | June 15, 2009

The Paris Air Show is under way in rainy Le Bourget, France. While the international media is busy coming up with conspiracy theories about why the Air Force did not bring the F-22A Raptor to the show, the staff of Inside the Air Force brings you some highlights from today's industry briefings and announcements.

Daily News | June 12, 2009

The contentious back-and-forth battle between Congress and the Pentagon over the Joint Strike Fighter second engine program continued today as a House defense panel added funding for the alternative power plant in its mark-up of the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill.

Daily News | June 1, 2009

Air Force and Army officials are set to brief Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn this week on their requirements for the 38 C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft the Pentagon plans to field to the Air National Guard, according to National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Craig McKinley.

Daily News | May 19, 2009

The Air Force's top general today outlined the four big-ticket items he would like to see added to the Pentagon's fiscal year 2010 budget.

The Insider | May 15, 2009

The Air Force today announced that it plans to make Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, the permanent headquarters for the service's cyber-fighting arm -- the 24th Air Force.

Daily News | April 27, 2009

The Defense Department's outgoing top weapon's buyer today sounded off against the Air Force's strategy for buying and fielding unmanned aerial systems, calling it illogical and wasteful.

The Insider | April 24, 2009

One of the major selling points of the F-22A is its ability to penetrate -- undetected -- an enemy's heavily defended airspace and “kick down the door” for follow-on aircraft by laying waste to air defense networks.

Daily News | April 21, 2009

Upcoming negotiations on the future nuclear footprint of the United States likely played a key role in Defense Secretary Robert Gates' move to delay a decision on a new strategic bomber for the Air Force until after the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, according to the commander of the nation's nuclear bomber force.

Daily News | April 10, 2009

President Obama this week asked Congress for more than $3 billion in the fiscal year 2009 warfighting supplemental appropriations request to invest in weapons, countermeasures, communications equipment and infrastructure that, if approved, will support the Air Force as it shifts its focus from Iraq toward combat in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan.

Daily News | April 6, 2009

Defense Secretary Robert Gates today said he is recommending the termination of a handful of the Air Force's largest acquisition programs, including the F-22A fifth-generation fighter and C-17 cargo hauler.

Daily News | March 24, 2009

Naval Air Systems Command this week ordered the temporary grounding of 84 Navy and Air Force V-22 Osprey tiltrotors after an inspection of one of 12 V-22s in Iraq revealed that loose bolts were causing damage to components in the aircraft's rotor assembly, according to a NAVAIR spokesman.

Daily News | March 11, 2009

After years of false starts and delays, a consensus is forming on Capitol Hill that a split purchase is the only feasible option for the embattled KC-135 tanker replacement competition, the chairman of the House Armed Services air land subcommittee said today.

The Insider | February 18, 2009

The Air Force is quietly resuscitating its long-dormant human-based intelligence corps, according to Maj. Gen. Paul Dettmer, the service's assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Daily News | February 17, 2009

The Air Force is taking dramatic steps to ensure that all corners of its networks are safe from cyber attack, going so far as to disconnect bases' Internet connections when they fail to adhere to strict network security rules, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said today.

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