This week’s tour of Malmstrom AFB, Mont., by DOD officials has produced no definitive answer as to whether the base will pick up a new mission being sought by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.). The Great Falls Tribune reports that seven officials from US Strategic Command and the National Guard Bureau looked over the facility Tuesday before proceeding to Helena for a chat with state National Guard officials. The Tribune also notes that lips were sealed as to what type of mission, now described as “classified.”
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.