For more than 500 days, the 
crews of the 41st Electronic Combat Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., have flown their EC-130H Compass Call aircraft jamming enemy communications in Afghanistan. The 41st and its sister unit, the 43rd ECS, which supports operations in Iraq, cover not two AEFs, but all AEFs—otherwise known as low-density, high-demand units. Read here for our coverage of this type of LD/HD commodity.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
