Late they may be, but Colorado officials are now working to secure the Air Force’s new Cyber Command for Colorado Springs. The Gazette reports that Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) joined other Colorado legislators in signing a letter to Air Force leaders, asking them to consider Colorado Springs, currently the home of Air Force Space Command, NORAD, and US Northern Command. Other states that entered the race earlier are Louisiana, the site of the provisional Cyber Command, California, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia. Salazar says that Colorado Springs has “become the crown jewel of our air and space systems, therefore it would make sense for Cyber Command to be a part of those centers.” Retired Maj. Gen. Wesley Clark, former AFSPC vice commander and Colorado Springs booster, told the newspaper that keeping the new command in Louisiana, an area susceptible to hurricanes, would be risky. He thinks the now nearly vacant Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station would be ideal.
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.