Latest Version of GPS Launches: The Air Force launched the first modernized Global Positioning System satellite built by Lockheed Martin aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., at 11:37 pm Sunday night. The satellite, a GPS IIR-M, is the first in a series of eight GPS IIR satellites Lockheed is modernizing. Among the features provided by the new sats, once they reach initial operational capability, are two new military signals and a second civil signal on a different frequency, as well as a new antenna panel for increased signal power to receivers on the ground.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…