The Missile Defense Agency has declared full operational capability for its Combined Test Force, now located at Huntsville, Ala. The agency has been moving personnel from scattered test elements to Huntsville because it “recognized a need for an integrated approach to testing and analysis of the entire [ballistic missile defense system] not just separate elements,” states an MDA news release. The CTF consolidation and move predates the relocation of the rest of MDA, principally from the Washington, D.C. area, to Huntsville, per BRAC 2005.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.