The Army on Wednesday identified the soldier killed in a Tuesday improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan as SSgt. Matthew V. Thompson, 28, of Irvine, Calif. Thompson was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces group (Airborne) at JB Lewis-McChord, Wash. He was killed and another soldier injured when an IED hit their patrol near Lashkar Gar, NATO announced. Six more Afghan soldiers were injured in the blast. This was Thompson’s first deployment to Afghanistan; he had previously deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the Army announced. Thompson was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart.
Lockheed Martin plans to enter the Advanced Tactical Trainer fray to supply the Air Force with a new jet to bridge between undergraduate flight instruction and fighter training units, but declined to say whether it will offer a T-50A derivative, a different non-developmental airplane, or a clean-sheet design. It's comments…