The elections in Afghanistan last week went rather well, aided by the watchful eyes of USAF A-10 fighters and EC-130H Compass Call and Navy EA-6B electronic jammers. The Warthogs from Pope AFB, N.C. and Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., flew close air support for ground troops and security forces near voting sites, while EC-130Hs from Davis-Monthan and EA-6Bs from NAS Whidbey Island, Wash., provided electronic protection and intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance.
With a new policy in hand, the Air Force’s Foreign Military Sales enterprise is looking to go beyond selling USAF systems to allies and partner nations—and instead help them develop their own capabilities. Such an approach, deemed “non-program of record acquisitions,” is part of a larger shift in FMS toward…