The Missile Defense Agency says that it plans to conduct four tests of its ground-based missile defense system this year, according to the Fairbanks (AK) Daily News-Miner. The agency would not disclose specific dates, but a spokesman did tell the paper that the agency would conduct three tests (not sequential) using Alaska’s Kodiak Island as the launch point for a target missile. There will be no interceptor missile fired for those three; they are data gathering opportunities only, says MDA. No. 2 on the dance program, however, will feature the first interceptor launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3