Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), who last week took the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) on a tour of Malmstrom AFB, Mont., told reporters that representatives from DOD and Homeland Security would be conducting a final site survey of the base this week in anticipation of opening a new national strategic command and control center there. It is not yet a done deal, but Burns called this final visit “an important step” toward getting the center at Malmstrom. “During my tenure in the Senate, I’ve worked to expand and improve the capabilities of this important installation, … and I will work to ensure this happens for Montana.” Burns is up for re-election.
Raytheon, a division of defense giant RTX, recently announced a multiyear deal with the Pentagon to increase annual production of the Air Force’s primary dogfighting missile by more than 50 percent from two years ago.
