President Obama announced on Thursday that he has “approved the use of US military aircraft” to help Egyptians seeking to flee the unrest in Libya return home. These Egyptians have fled to Libya’s western border with Tunisia. An Air Force spokesman told the Daily Report that USAF assets will participate in the evacuation flights, but it was too early to say what aircraft would be involved and the service had not yet received a formal tasking. Obama also said he has authorized US Agency for International Development officials to charter civil aircraft “to help people from other countries find their way home.” Further, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered US Africa Command to take the lead in planning any defense involvement in response to the situation in Libya. (AFPS report by Karen Parrish) (See also White House blog entry)
Australia’s military will help the Pentagon pursue so-called “air-breathing” hypersonic weapons and more under the U.S.-run Allied Prototyping Initiative, the U.S. Defense Department said Nov. 30. The Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) initiative “will be essential to the future of hypersonic research and development, ensuring the U.S. and…