The Air Force is quite pleased with the work Lockheed Martin has been doing at the service’s Distributed Mission Operations Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M., so much so it has just awarded the company another $26 million to extend the existing contract through 2009. Lockheed provides technical integration and network management, as well as development of new software, for the DMOC, which is primarily a training simulation activity. However, Col. Leonard Moskal, commander of the 505th Distributed Warfare Group at Kirtland, says DMOC does more than provide realistic network warfare training; it enables the service “to test and evaluate tactics, weapons, or technology.”
The B-2 Spirit remains grounded due to safety issues—and the plane’s stand-down is beginning to disrupt planned operations. According to information provided to the media, the stealth strategic bomber from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., was originally scheduled to participate in the latest iteration of…