The Air Force is unveiling its first “Air Force Week” and holding the event in St. Louis, beginning Sunday when airmen are to be showcased during a St. Louis Cardinals game. There is no indication in the service announcement whether Air Force Week will mirror the Navy’s Fleet Week events held in various cities each year. Officials say the week in St. Louis, slated to run until Aug. 13, will feature speeches, hospital visits, and concerts, as well as a chance to meet members of the Air Force Thunderbirds, who will be providing aerial demonstrations during the Scott AFB, Ill., open house from Aug. 12-13.
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.