The Missile Defense Agency says that it plans to conduct four tests of its ground-based missile defense system this year, according to the Fairbanks (AK) Daily News-Miner. The agency would not disclose specific dates, but a spokesman did tell the paper that the agency would conduct three tests (not sequential) using Alaska’s Kodiak Island as the launch point for a target missile. There will be no interceptor missile fired for those three; they are data gathering opportunities only, says MDA. No. 2 on the dance program, however, will feature the first interceptor launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
