The close partnership between the United States, Australia, Britain, and Canada in space-based early warning will continue as the Air Force transitions from the 40 year-old Defense Support Program constellation to the new Space Based Infrared Systems network, according to a USAF space official. “We have a memorandum of agreement that’s been signed by all four nations agreeing to how the three partner nations integrate in with us,” said Lt. Col. Jennifer Jenkins, 2nd Space Warning Squadron commander at Buckley AFB, Colo., during a media roundtable Oct. 28. The agreement “has been signed for another three years” which “gets us well into the SBIRS” program, she noted. Personnel from the three allies make up 16 of the 140 positions at Buckley’s mission control center, which operates DSP and SBIRS. These personnel are fully integrated into operations and intelligence sharing, said Jenkins
Images of a new, two-seat version of China's J-20 stealth fighter, circulated on the internet, raise questions about the jet's purpose. It could be meant as a trainer, a ground-attack variant, or as a platform for managing unmanned aircraft flying in coordination with other J-20s and Chinese combat airplanes. The…