The Air National Guard-led 1st Air Force at Tyndall AFB, Fla., organized much of the hunt for famed aviator and tycoon Steve Fossett, engaging various aircraft and a USAF radar unit through the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall, reports Capt. Nathan Broshear. The California, Nevada, and Utah Civil Air Patrol flew light aircraft and the California and Nevada Air National Guards C-130 and HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft. On Sept. 5, CAP added an Airborne Real-Time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance-equipped aircraft to the mix, to aid in identifying objects in the mountainous terrain where Fossett was believed to have gone down.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
