French Lt. Gen. Gilles Desclaux, France’s commander in chief of air defense and air operations, visited Barksdale AFB, La., Jan. 25-28 at the invitation of 8th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Elder. The two discussed ongoing operations, including each country’s nuclear mission, along with USAF’s plans to stand up Air Force Global Strike Command. “[The meetings] improved relations and understanding between the two countries as far as military operations in the strategic role and air defense and air operations,” said Col. West Anderson, chief of staff at 8th Air Force. Desclaux also toured the base and got the chance to ride along on a B-52 sortie. He was reportedly impressed with the aircraft’s capabilities. Before departing Barksdale, Desclaux extended an invitation to Elder to pay a reciprocal visit to France to continue the discussions. (Barksdale report by SrA. David Zheng)
Fourth GPS III Satellite Heads to Space
Sept. 25, 2020
Lockheed Martin’s fourth GPS III satellite is scheduled to head to space on a SpaceX rocket Sept. 29, marking the navigation system’s second launch so far this year. “It'll be awesome to have four GPS III satellites on orbit. It's a good start to the Space Force's effort to modernize…