Airmen assigned to Lajes Field, Portugal, in the Azores, say they recently recorded the second highest ground-level wind gust—at 68 mph—in three years and it came on the second straight day of 50-plus winds. The field’s tower level wind sensor (at 431 feet mean sea level) recorded 94.4 mph winds. The winds damaged the American Forces Network satellite dish and the instrument landing system on one runway. MSgt. Sean Lehman, operations superintendent with AFN Det. 6, told journalist SSgt. Christin Michaud, “The extent of thhe damage surprised us a little. … It took some force to actually rip it off its mount like that.”
All of the U.S. military services are pursuing capabilities to complement GPS amid concerns that the constellation is increasingly vulnerable to interference, but a new government watchdog report calls for better coordination and prioritization among those efforts to avoid delays and duplication.
