As Uzbekistan’s autocrats have completed kicking out the US military and NATO allies, it has extended a warm reception to Russia’s military. Russian news agency Interfax reports that a Russian Air Force unit could be deployed to Karshi-Khanabad Air Base soon—taking the place of US military assets. Russian airplanes could be working with Uzbek aircraft to maintain security in Central Asia, a Moscow military source told Interfax. The source added, “The Americans have left good infrastructure behind.” Nice.
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.