Air Mobility Command has named Maj. Gen. James A. Hawkins to command 18th Air Force, Scott AFB, Ill. Currently Hawkins is director of operations at AMC headquarters. He is a 1973 West Point graduate and a bomber pilot whom, in 1994, flew as instructor pilot on a 47-hour, around-the-world, non-stop B-52 flight. He has commanded the 319th Air Refueling Wing, 89th Airlift Wing, and the Tanker Airlift Control Center.
The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is behind schedule and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon.