The Air Force has inactivated the Force Protection Battlelab at Lackland AFB, Tex., as part of a money-saving effort that targeted all seven of its battlelabs. The Force Protection Battlelab, created in 1997, completed some 200 projects, including a pathogen detection device, credited with saving thousands of lives, reports Carolyn Lyon. A newly formed Force Protection Innovation Division under the Air Force Security Forces Center is expected to carry on some of that work.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…



