The US Air Force elements formerly assigned to Iceland are gone, but a recent NATO exercise was intended to demonstrate just how the alliance would sustain a long-running defense agreement. Northern Viking 2007 comprised nearly 200 airmen from RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Britain, Ramstein AB, Germany, and other forces from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and NATO, reports Capt. Joel Harper. The US decided early in 2006 to remove forces from Iceland, formally closing NAS Keflavik, which has housed USAF F-15 and rescue helicopter elements, on Sept. 30, 2006. For F-15s at RAF Lakenheath, the exercise has given them an opportunity to practice their “air policing” mission with other countries, reports TSgt. J. LaVoie.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.