Gen. Bruce A. Carlson, the head of Air Force Materiel Command, predicts a new dawn for small space systems. He told AFA’s Los Angeles Symposium last week that he sees “significant opportunities” in development of micro satellite programs as exemplified by the XSS-11 Minotaur (launched earlier this year). He added that Air Force Research Laboratory is working to decrease the size and weight of on-board electronics found in key satellite systems. The shift has been accelerated by the Global War on Terrorism, with its heavy demands on GPS satellites and on bandwidth in general, said Carlson.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.