US and Kyrgyz officials are about to wade into a second round of negotiations over the American military presence at Manas Air Base, reports Russian news agency ITAR-TASS. The new Kyrgyzstan leadership has been pressing for an increase in rental payments.
The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $694 million contract for production of the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon last month, the service announced Oct. 26.

