The airmen of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England, have devised a new method to prepare and disseminate notices to airmen. The old process forced every flying squadron in the United Kingdom to work independently, duplicating work and leading to errors. Under the new approach, intelligence, airfield management, and current operations team to produce a database, from which data is automatically overlaid upon electronic maps. Officials say flight planning can be done in real-time and credit the Air Force’s Smart Operations 21 effort for giving birth to the initiative.
The U.S. military conducted strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz on May 7, as the conflict with Iran flared up again—though officials say the ceasefire remains in effect.