Britain will permit the US to use an air force base at Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire as a site for missile defense shield elements. British Defense Minister Des Browne said Menwith Hill would be equipped with communications equipment and that this arrangement is “a building block to enhance our national and collective security,” according to Associated Press.
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