The National Reconnaissance Office has opened a liaison office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, headquarters of Air Force Material Command. “My intent is to let the community know I’m here,” said USAF Lt. Col. Chris Boring, an NRO representative in the newly created office. “That can open the dialogue on what NRO can do to help AFMC meet its mission.” Wright-Patt also is home to the Air Force Research Lab and AFMC’s Aeronautical Systems Center, which manages the service’s aircraft modernization and sustainment efforts. NRO builds and maintains the nation’s intelligence satellites. The liaison office is part of the organization’s broader push to increase cooperation with the Defense Department to push boundaries and increase battlefield intelligence. “We may be able to bring solutions to help the Air Force reach its goal of delivering actionable intelligence to the warfighter,” said Boring. (Wright-Patt release)
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.