The Japanese parliament on Tuesday passed a measure that would extend the use of Japan Air Defense Force assets to haul cargo and personnel in Iraq, reports Reuters news service. Japanese military air elements have aided coalition operations in Iraq since December 2003, and they have taken over some airlift operations in the Pacific to free USAF airlifters for Southwest Asia duty.
More than 50 years after the U.S. military launched its first Defense Support Program satellite, the Space Force has officially decommissioned the missile warning constellation as it prepares to start fielding its next-generation architecture.