USAF says it is on track to launch in November the third of three satellites in the current Defense Meteorological Satellite Program constellation. Officials at Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., expressed their optimistic review in a July 20 release. The overall DMSP program has been around for some five decades. It is a key part of USAF’s efforts to track global weather conditions for the Pentagon and civilian agencyes. SMC designs, builds, and maintains the fleet.
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.