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Former Military Officer Makes Scary UFO Claim

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Former Air Force Captain Robert Salas allegedly had a wild experience with UFOs.

In an interview with The Sun, Salas claimed to have been overseeing 10 nuclear missiles at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana when a UFO took them offline in 1967.

Salas recently told The Sun the following in part about the alleged incident:

I was in charge of ten nuclear missiles at the time when a UFO came over and hovered over our facility and while it was hovering there it was seen by all our guards. I was underground 60ft, locked into a concrete capsule. It was reported to me directly by those guards. While the object was up there we lost all ten missiles due to guidance and control failure…This object, whatever it was, would have had to send a signal to each missile separately and disable the guidance system.

(Read more from “Former Military Officer Makes Scary UFO Claim” HERE)

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Judge Rules Sexual Assault Case Against the Military’s No. 2 Officer Can Proceed

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A federal judge ruled Thursday that a retired officer’s sexual assault case against Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the military’s second-highest ranking officer, can proceed to the next phase.

The ruling, issued by Judge Michael Fitzgerald of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, is a major win for retired Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser after the Air Force last year said it could not corroborate her accusations against Hyten. At the time, Spletstoser had accused Hyten, then President Donald Trump’s nominee for vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of unwanted sexual advances and sexual assault in a hotel room at a conference in 2017.

Hyten has denied Spletstoser’s accusations and argued she couldn’t sue him because the alleged assault was “incident to military service,” a key element of the Feres Doctrine, which prohibits service members from being sued in civil court and has generally prevented troops from suing their superior officers. . .

“Regardless of whether General Hyten came to Plaintiff’s hotel room under the pretense of work-related purposes, it is not conceivable that his military duties would require him to sexually assault Plaintiff, or that such an assault would advance any conceivable military objective,” according to the ruling. (Read more from “Judge Rules Sexual Assault Case Against the Military’s No. 2 Officer Can Proceed” HERE)

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Air Force Moves to Cancel Contracts for Training on ‘White Privilege’

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The Air Force is taking the first steps toward canceling any contracts for diversity and unconscious bias training that include segments on white privilege and other controversial subjects, as called for by the White House.

The Air Force’s move follows a Sept. 4 memo from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, which alleged executive branch agencies have spent millions of taxpayer dollars “’training’ government workers to believe divisive, anti-American propaganda.”

Vought ordered agencies to identify, and then look for ways to cancel or defund, contracts or agency spending for training on critical race theory, white privilege, “or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either … that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or … that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil.” Vought also called such courses “un-American propaganda training sessions.” . . .

In a Tuesday email, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said the Air Force is complying with the guidance laid out in the OMB memo, and is looking to identify and cancel contracts that run afoul of the memo’s guidance. Stefanek also confirmed the JA issued guidance to other judge advocates throughout the Department of the Air Force, which includes the Space Force, about the OMB memo. (Read more from “Air Force Moves to Cancel Contracts for Training on ‘White Privilege’” HERE)

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New Stealth Fighter 6th-Gen Prototype Flies in Record Time, Invisible and Deadly

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By PJ Media. A new stealth fighter prototype has taken to the skies, Air Force acquisition chief William Roper casually let it be known on Tuesday. . .

The Air Force “secretly designed, built, and tested” the prototype in just one year, which is unprecedented in recent decades.

Roper told Defense News earlier this week, “We’ve already built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator in the real world, and we broke records in doing it.”

Staying otherwise mum on when the world can expect to see the world’s first sixth-generation air superiority jet, Roper added, “All I can say is that the.. test flights have been amazing.”

Officially known at this early date as the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, the Air Force could not have found a better time to get its procurement mojo back. (Read more from “New Stealth Fighter 6th-Gen Prototype Flies in Record Time, Invisible and Deadly” HERE)

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The Air Force Has Built and Flown a Mysterious Full-Scale Prototype of Its Future Fighter Jet

By Defense News. The U.S. Air Force has secretly designed, built and flown at least one prototype of its enigmatic next-generation fighter jet, the service’s top acquisition official confirmed to Defense News on Sept. 14.

The development is certain to shock the defense community, which last saw the first flight of an experimental fighter during the battle for the Joint Strike Fighter contract 20 years ago. With the Air Force’s future fighter program still in its infancy, the rollout and successful first flight of a demonstrator was not expected for years.

“We’ve already built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator in the real world, and we broke records in doing it,” Will Roper told Defense News in an exclusive interview ahead of the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference. “We are ready to go and build the next-generation aircraft in a way that has never happened before.”

Almost every detail about the aircraft itself will remain a mystery due to the classification of the Next Generation Air Dominance program, the Air Force’s effort for fielding a family of connected air warfare systems that could include fighters, drones and other networked platforms in space or the cyber realm. (Read more from “The Air Force Has Built and Flown a Mysterious Full-Scale Prototype of Its Future Fighter Jet” HERE)

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Pentagon: Chinese Air Force Fast-Becoming MASSIVE Threat

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New attack drones, 5th-generation stealth fighter jets, reconfigured cargo planes and Russian-built air defenses are making China’s Air Force even deadlier. In fact, all of these advances present a great concern to U.S. war planners.

The size of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force is reported to include a total of 2,500 aircraft, making it the third-largest in the world, according to the Pentagon’s 2020 China Military Power report.

U.S. threat assessors are not merely concerned about the size of the Chinese Air Force but the increasing technical sophistication and multi-mission tactics with which it operates. For instance, as part of its discussion of Chinese airpower, the report notes that China operates highly advanced, Russian-built S-400 and S-500 air defenses.

These systems, among the best in the world, increasingly use networked digital processors, faster computer speeds and a wider range of frequencies to detect aircraft. Russian media reports have claimed that their air defenses can even track stealth aircraft, a claim that has yet to be formally verified.

Yet another concern with China’s air power is its fast-increasing attack range. The Chinese Y-20 cargo plane, for instance, is likely being configured into a tanker aircraft to nearly double the attack range of Chinese fighter jets. Technically speaking, while the U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 tanker is certainly different from its C-130s, it would not be at all technically difficult to convert a large Y-20 into a tanker configuration. (Read more from “Pentagon: Chinese Air Force Fast-Becoming Massive Threat” HERE)

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Military Helicopter Shot by Bullet in Virginia

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The FBI is investigating the shooting of a military helicopter during a training mission this week in northern Virginia, injuring one crew member who was aboard, officials said Wednesday.

The Air Force helicopter was flying over Middleburg on Monday when it was shot from the ground nearby, according to authorities. The helicopter made an emergency landing at the Manassas Regional Airport, and federal agents were called to the scene to investigate, the FBI said in a statement.

The crew members aboard the UH-1N Huey helicopter, assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, were on a routine training mission when the helicopter was struck by a bullet, the Air Force said in a statement. The helicopter was about 10 miles northwest of the airport, near Middleburg, and was flying about 1,000 feet above the ground when it was hit, according to officials.

One crew member in the helicopter was injured but has since been treated and released from the hospital, according to authorities. The initial findings of the investigation show that the helicopter was struck by a bullet, causing some damage to the aircraft, though it landed safely, the Air Force said. (Read more from “Military Helicopter Shot by Bullet in Virginia” HERE)

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WATCH: Air Force Video Lays out “Skyborg” Artificial Intelligence Combat Drone Program

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The U.S. Air Force has released a slick new video regarding its Skyborg program, which is developing a suite of systems that will form an artificial intelligence-driven “computer brain” capable of flying networked “loyal wingman” type drones and fully autonomous unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs. The video offers new insights into what the service wants out of this project, how it sees it fitting into its larger aerial combat ecosystem, and what unmanned capabilities it might serve as a stepping stone toward in the future. . .

The new Skyborg video features concept art with additional views of a notional loyal wingman-type drone that AFRL first showed publicly last year. The design, which has clear low-observable (stealthy) features, has a centrally-mounted main wing and v-tail. A top-mounted air intake at the rear of the fuselage feeds into a single small jet engine with a shrouded exhaust.

A cutaway shows a modular equipment bay in the top of the forward fuselage, including what looks to be some kind of sensor, possibly meant to depict an Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system, in the nose. This conceptual aircraft has two internal payload bays underneath the fuselage in between its tricycle landing gear. (Read more from “WATCH: Air Force Video Lays out “Skyborg” Artificial Intelligence Combat Drone Program” HERE)

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FBI Probes Possible Link Between Air Force Sergeant Suspected in Ambush Police Killing

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An active-duty U.S. Air Force sergeant suspected of wielding a rifle and improvised explosives in the ambush killing of a 38-year-old Northern California sheriff’s deputy is also being investigated for a possible connection to the fatal shooting last month of a federal officer during a protest in Oakland, multiple sources told ABC News on Sunday.

The suspect, Steven Carrillo, 32, was taken into custody on Saturday after he was wounded in a shootout with law enforcement officers in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 35 miles west of San Jose, officials said.

Carrillo is alleged to have fatally shot Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller and injured another deputy when he attacked them with a rifle and multiple improvised explosives in Ben Lomond, California, authorities said. A California Highway Patrol officer was also wounded during a shootout that erupted as officers moved to take Carrillo into custody, officials said. . .

Carrillo is an active-duty sergeant assigned to the 60th Security Forces Squadron based at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, about 100 miles northeast of Ben Lomond, 2nd Lt. Mike Longoria, a spokesman for the base, told ABC News on Sunday. Longoria referred all other questions about Carrillo to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that the FBI is investigating a possible link between the deadly ambush in Santa Cruz County and the May 29 killing of Federal Protective Services Officer Dave Patrick Underwood in Oakland. (Read more from “FBI Probes Possible Link Between Air Force Sergeant Suspected in Ambush Police Killing” HERE)

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Pilots Killed in Air Force Plane Crash in Afghanistan Identified

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The names of two Air Force pilots killed in the crash of their Bombardier E-11A electronic surveillance plane in Afghanistan were released on Wednesday, U.S. defense officials told Fox News.

They were identified as Lt. Col. Paul K. Voss, 46, of Yigo, Guam, and Capt. Ryan S. Phaneuf, 30, of Hudson, New Hampshire. Voss was assigned to Air Combat Command headquarters at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. Phaneuf was assigned to the 37th Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

“This is a tragic loss to the Air Force and our Ellsworth Family. Our thoughts and prayers are with the member’s family, friends and co-workers as we all come to terms with this tragedy,” said Col. David A. Doss, 28th Bomb Wing commander. “Every uniformed and civilian Airman assigned to Ellsworth is a valuable member of our team and this Airman will be greatly missed by all. Please respect the family’s privacy as we concentrate on caring for them and our team during this difficult time.” . . .

The remains of the two pilots who were supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel were recovered from the crash site in Ghazni province by American forces on Tuesday. (Read more from “Pilots Killed in Air Force Plane Crash in Afghanistan Identified” HERE)

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Air Force IDs Missing Airman Who Fell Into Gulf of Mexico From C-130 Aircraft

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The U.S. Air Force on Sunday identified the airman presumed dead after he fell into the Gulf of Mexico from a C-130 aircraft last week, as recovery efforts continued.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Cole Condiff, 29, a special tactics combat controller with 24th Special Operations Wing, part of the Air Force Special Operations Command, fell 1,500 feet out of the plane Tuesday morning during a parachute-jump training exercise out of Hurlburt Field, Fla., investigators said.

Crew members aboard the C-130 said they initially saw Condiff, whose parachute did deploy, treading water but lost sight of him while making a turn to pick him up. The Coast Guard spent over 130 hours on the scene and searched over 4,900 square nautical miles, but were unable to find the airman. . .

Condiff enlisted in the Air Force in 2012, as Fox 13 reported, and his awards and decorations included an Air Force Achievement Medal and an Air Force Commendation Medal with a combat device.

The Air Force said Condiff was a static-line jumpmaster, military free-fall jumper, combat scuba diver, air traffic controller and a joint terminal attack controller. (Read more from “Air Force IDs Missing Airman Who Fell Into Gulf of Mexico From C-130 Aircraft” HERE)

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