It has been about 10 years since USAF retired the last of its F-111 aircraft, but aircraft spotters in Nevada have a chance to see the Aardvark, as US airmen knew it, fly again as Royal Australian Air Force F-111s take part in Red Flag 06-1. The exercise, which runs through Feb. 18, brought together more than 85 aircraft from USAF, US Navy, US Marine Corps, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…

