The Missile Defense Agency has just received its second Space Tracking and Surveillance System Block 2006 sensor payload, built by Raytheon and delivered to STSS prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The agency expects to launch two STSS satellites with Block 2006 sensors, built from refurbished flight demonstration hardware, in late 2007 and to receive missile warning data as part of the nation’s growing Ballistic Missile Defense System over their two-year lifespan.
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…