The Air Force has expanded the potential beddown locations for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter joint/international schoolhouse operation from Eglin AFB, Fla., proper to area airfields within the broader Eglin reservation, so officials revealed during the public scoping meetings that began Aug. 24. In addition to Eglin main, presented as Alternative 1 in the service’s draft supplemental environmental impact statement, are Duke Field (Alternative 2) and Choctaw Field (Alternative 3). Each alternative has a bevy of subalternatives and options range from constructing new runways, adding parallel runways, and moving runways, to using a combination of Eglin, Duke, and Choctaw capabilities. Continue
The Air Force is upgrading some 70 MQ-9 Reapers to a new configuration that will keep the type capable and relevant to the near-peer fight for another 15 years. It awarded General Atomics a $272.3 million contract to enhance the Reaper's weapons, electric power, connectivity, and resistance to jamming, among…