US District Court Judge Jeanne Scott in Springfield, Ill., has to reconsider the lawsuit brought by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich over the decision to remove F-16s from the Illinois Air National Guard’s 183rd Fighter Wing and transfer them to the 122nd FW of the Indiana ANG. The Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal-Gazette reports that a federal appeals court has sent the case back to Scott, who ruled against Illinois initially in September 2005. (The Supreme Court in fall 2005 also rejected a request from Illinois for an emergency injunction against the BRAC 2005 commission.) Meanwhile, Illinois has been pursuing any number of possible new missions for the 183rd.
Air Force Global Strike Command test-launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile Aug. 16, several days after delaying the test to avoid stoking tensions with China. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., took place at 12:49 a.m. Pacific time. The ICBM reentry vehicle traveled approximately 4,200 miles…