US airmen and other warfighters stand to benefit from a scheduled launch of the latest Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft—the F-17 Block 5D-3—aboard a Boeing Delta IV Medium booster from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Nov. 4. The Lockheed Martin-built satellite features advanced sensors that collect meteorological data in all weather conditions, a more powerful computer with greater memory, and ring laser gyros that supply more flexible precision pointing than earlier mechanical gyros, states a company news release.
The Pentagon announced new long-term agreements with four defense companies May 13 to develop and produce large numbers of low-cost cruise missiles. And while the effort will focus mostly on the Army to start, it pairs with Air Force efforts to find more affordable munitions.