Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr., director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, is being shown the door courtesy of Donald Rumsfeld for a past transgression, reports the Baltimore Sun. Clapper is set to step down in June, after nearly five years in the post. According to the Sun, Clapper wanted to stay longer, but Rumsfeld declined to renew his contract over disagreements emanating from the formation of the new National Intelligence office. In responding to lawmaker questions in 2004, Clapper had said his agency could work equally well whether under the Pentagon or not.
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.