The Air Force has tapped Northrop Grumman to provide technical and engineering support personnel to expand USAF’s national air defense force. The five-year, $64 million contract will fund hiring personnel “with appropriate security clearances to provide the Air Force with intelligence collections and analysis,” states a company news releases. According to Northrop, other areas covered by the contract are “operational planning, training, exercise planning and execution, computer systems, network management, security, personnel-management services, civil engineering, logistics management, aircraft maintenance, and supply and civil-support operations expertise.” The Northrop employees will work at McChord AFB, Wash., Rome, N.Y., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tyndall AFB, Fla.
After years of experiments and tests, senior Air Force leaders say they're on the verge of using C-17s and other cargo aircraft to launch cruise missiles via airdrop, touting the development as a way to bolster the combat fleet and a major shift in the service’s mindset.