The Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., has activated the 461st Flight Test Squadron to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force. (We missed this Nov. 29 news release.) The unit’s commander, Lt. Col. Ed Cassidy, noted that the JSF team already had “completed the review of 12 test plans … and we’ve seen the first engine run out at Fort Worth, Tex.,” among other accomplishments. His unit will oversee continued facility upgrades and the fighter’s first flight, slated for this month.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.