The US and Japan are set to start deploying the Patriot anti-missile system on the island’s mainland, along with 600 troops from Ft. Bliss, Tex. The PAC-3 system will be deployed at first on American military sites in Japan, with Japanese officials saying they would deploy them on the Self-Defense Forces bases for the first time by March 2007, the Washington Post reports.
With upgrades, F-16s can serve as a numbers-builder in the combat air forces until the 2040s, and it’s not necessary to launch its successor yet, program officials said at an industry conference. “We anticipate hundreds of F-16s in active service for decades to come,” meaning into the 2040s, Col. Tim…