The Air Force’s second CV-22 Osprey has arrived at Edwards AFB, Calif., two months earlier than the contract due date. A third Osprey will join No. 2 and No. 1—now undergoing electromagnetic testing at NAS Patuxent River, Md.,—at Edwards in February. The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center unit at Edwards plans to use the first three Ospreys to conduct operational utility evaluations next summer. If the Ospreys check out OK, USAF officials said they would send them to Kirtland AFB, N.M., to begin training operations next fall. They expect the initial operational test and evaluation phase to commence in fall 2007.
A new Navy missile could fill a long-range air-to-air need for the U.S. Air Force’s fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation fighters. The Navy’s portfolio acquisition executive for munitions posted information on the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile online on Aug. 22, the same day it unveiled the project at the service’s…