It won’t be Pope Air Force Base, N.C., anymore, but even the new Pope Army base (Ft. Pope?) will have an Air Force presence. Despite earlier reservations about destroying synergy between USAF airlifters at Pope AFB, N.C., and the troops they transport at Ft. Bragg, just next door, the BRAC commission accepted the Pentagon recommendations for Pope. The Army will own the facility and the Air force will maintain a 16-aircraft C-130H squadron, instead of its current 25-aircraft wing. It was unclear, from the Friday afternoon BRAC session, if the squadron would be a mixture of active and reserves forces, as USAF proposed, or all Air Force Reserve Command. Pope’s 36 A-10 Warthogs are slated for Moody AFB, Ga.
The Pentagon’s head of research and engineering is prioritizing technologies that can penetrate and operate inside highly contested enemy territory. Top among them are artificial intelligence and autonomy. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said other priorities on the list include creating the technology and standards for…