About 98 percent of those US military personnel injured in Afghanistan who needed transport to out-of-country medical facilities have survived, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Friday. Every day, the Air Force flies about 10 “life-saving” transport missions, he said. Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001—and including operations in Iraq—USAF has airlifted 21,000 injured personnel out of Southwest Asia, he said.
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.