Seventeenth Air Force, the air component of US Africa Command, along with its parent organization, is partnering with Air University to host a three-day symposium at Maxwell AFB, Ala., starting March 31 to bring together African subject-matter experts from across the US military and US government as well as business, civil, and academic circles. The goal is to engage the participants in discussion that will help formulate a set of proposals and policy recommendations that will guide the Air Force—and US military overall—as it engages with friendly nations and partners in Africa to tackle the vast continent’s myriad challenges, such as air safety. “We want to work with some of the best minds in these fields, said Maj. Gen. Ronald Ladnier, who heads 17th AF, when discussing the upcoming symposium during a presentation he gave earlier this month at Air University. He said then that helping African nations improve their air infrastructure—which accounts for only 4.5 percent of the world’s air traffic, yet generates about 25 percent of all air accidents—would transform the continent in a similar manner that the transcontinental railroad forever changed the US. (Maxwell release by Scott Knuteson)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.