Airmen of the 56th Rescue Squadron—lately of NAS Keflavik, Iceland—have flown their first mission from their new home at RAF Lakenheath, England. Currently, the 56th RQS has some 75 airmen—air and ground crews—that made the move from Iceland to England earlier this year, along with some of the unit’s HH-60 Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopters. Over the next year, the unit will grow to about 200 airmen.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.