The Defense Department has named the 75th Civil Engineer Group Environmental Division at Hill AFB, Utah, as the best Environmental Quality Team in DOD. The division comprises 21 natural, cultural, and environmental compliance specialists, including biologists, engineers, an archaeologist, and other managers. Division chief Bob James credited the unit’s success to the “environmental consciousness and ethic of many, many individuals.” The Hill team covers not only the base area but also the Utah Test and Training Range and Little Mountain Test Annex. Among several achievements, the division established a new recycling program for scrap metals that generated $43,000 for the base and reduced hazardous waste costs by more than $440,000 per year. (Hill report by Barbara Fisher)
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.