NORAD turns 50 this year and plans to celebrate the milestone with a series of activities both in Canada and the United States. According to a March 20 release, the events will kick off with a gala Golden Jubilee Ball in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 12, the date on which the Canadian and US governments signed the agreement that created the binational command to protect North American airspace. There will also be aircraft and displays at major air shows across both countries. For more, visit the official 50th Anniversary Web site.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.