A group of 29 civic leaders recently spent four days traveling to sites in Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas to see firsthand border issues and airspace defense challenges facing NORAD and US Northern Command today. NORAD/NORTHCOM Spokesman Mike Perini said it was a tour designed to focus on “critical mission sets.” The group included many who hold public service and homeland security positions in various states.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.