Lawmakers have introduced companion bills in the Senate and House that would provide a Congressional Gold Medal for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), the group of women who served as instructors, transport, and ferrying pilots during World War II. Despite their invaluable service, the women were not granted military veteran status until 1977. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) are leading the action on S. 614 and H.R. 2014. The Senate passed its version May 20. (For background, read Air Force Magazine’s The WASPs and the Daily Report’s WASPs Gather One Last Time.)
‘Angry Kitten’ EW Pod Tested on Search-and-Rescue HC-130
April 17, 2026
The Air Force recently tested its “Angry Kitten” electronic warfare pod on an HC-130J during Exercise Bamboo Shield, showing the pod can turn the rescue platform into a command-and-control node and protect it from enemy radars.The tests follow what could be the pod’s first use in combat after it was…