The US Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo., announced last week that its applications for the Class of 2014 had increased over the previous year by 17.2 percent overall and 36 percent for minorities. An average class comprises 1,300 students. The academy received nearly, 11,600 applications, about 1,700 more than for the 2013 class. Of those, there were 4,029 minority applications, an increase of 1,070 over the previous class. The USAFA release credited the success to the academy’s “focused efforts over the last several years to reach out to minorities and individuals in areas of the country that are underrepresented at the academy.”
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.