Retired Brig. Gen. Maurice A. Cristadoro Jr., who served as program manager for the Atlas ballistic missile, died Nov. 22 at age 88. Cristadoro began his Air Force career in 1941 as an aviation cadet, receiving his wings in November 1941 and serving in the European Theater in 1944-45 as a flight leader and squadron commander of a P-51 unit. Following the war, he served as chief of the special weapons branch at Wright Air Development Center in Ohio and then on the Air Staff in advanced systems planning. He took over acquisition of the Atlas ballistic missile and later directed ballistic missile programs at Air Force Systems Command. He last served as AFSC’s assistant deputy chief of staff for development plans. Air Force Space Command inducted Cristadoro into the Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2006. (AFSPC report by MSgt. Kate Rust)
A Defense Department team is on the ground in Ukraine assessing what the country needs to protect itself from air, naval, electronic, and cyber warfare threats as Russian troops gather on multiple fronts, a senior Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine, describing an emphasis on what assistance can be…