USAF Plans to Spiff up the “Bag”: The 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., has begun conducting a six-month wear test for the force’s next flight suit and the T-shirt worn underneath. The test runs through November 1. The new “bag” envisioned by the Air Force is exactly the same in structure but is made of a “different weave of fabric,” says Danny Keith, the 28th TES assistant project manager. The current bag presents problems with pilling, shade variation, and zipper flaring. The test offers two T-shirt variations—wool or the same flame-retardant meta-aramid fibers used in the flight suit.
The Pentagon is considering ditching the Air Force’s plan to buy the E-7 Wedgetail as it looks to outsource the airborne target-tracking mission to space, defense officials indicated this week.