The French Come Back for Seconds: 
Some 21 members of the French Air Force have started a second deployment to support war on terror operations in Afghanistan. The new phase, dubbed Operation Serpentaire, picked up May 26 where the first left off and will continue until October. Officials say that the first group conducted about seven percent of coalition Operation Enduring Freedom air sorties.
With key members of Congress wavering on the possibility of a $350 billion defense reconciliation bill, defense experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Pentagon is likely drawing up budget backup plans—but such plans would face hard choices between high-end weapons and low-cost drones and other programs in…