Air Force members are now engaged in the partial evacuation of Americans from war-wracked Lebanon. In a July 19 release, USAF said three Air Force MH-53 Pave Low helicopters are at work transporting US citizens from the Arab nation to Cyprus in the Mediterranean. The choppers are part of the 352nd Special Operations Group. They deployed from their home station, RAF Mildenhall in Britain, to Akrotiri, Cyprus several days ago. At McGuire AFB, N.J., a contingency response group is standing by for deployment to the area, said the release.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.