US Alaska Command released the draft environmental impact report on proposed upgrades to the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex that adjoins Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. “JPARC requires a more contemporary and versatile design and improved infrastructure to meet the present and future needs of the military,” states an Alaska Command release. The command’s plan calls for expanding or adding several military operations areas, opening the complex to live air-to-air-missile shots, and enhancing access for remotely piloted aircraft. Proposed upgrades would “enable realistic joint training and testing to support emerging technologies, respond to recent battlefield experiences, and train with new weapons systems and tactics to meet combat and national security needs,” reads the release. DOD will conduct public hearings in communities near the complex in May to allow local citizens to weigh in. The final upgrade decision is expected in 2013. (See also JPARC website for updates and hyperlinks to draft EIS.)
The Space Development Agency launched its first two batches of operational satellites last fall in what was supposed to be the start of a 10-month campaign to populate its proliferated data transport and missile tracking constellation. Six months later, the agency and its vendors have yet to move those first…