The Air Force inactivated Antigua Air Station, which has served as one of the primary range and control instrument sites for space and launch vehicle tracking support, during a July 7 ceremony on the island, according to a July 13 USAF release. “Mission requirements for space and launch vehicle tracking support were reviewed, and we discovered that we are able to provide the necessary capabilities with mission design changes and use of the telemetry system on Ascension,” said Lt. Col. Steve Melvin, commander of Det. 1. The C-Band Radar will be relocated to the Harold E. Holt Naval Communications Station in Australia where it will be integrated into the US Space Surveillance Network. “The resulting increase in battlespace awareness due to the location in Australia will provide the warfighter with predictive and actionable situational awareness through early detection of launches at a lower inclination than previously available,” added Melvin. The air station cost more than $10 million US dollars each year to operate, states the release.
Senior U.S. lawmakers expressed frustration that they are being cut out of some of the Trump administration’s most central decisions on military policy and spending. Their concerns, which are shared on both sides of the aisle, concern the budget reconciliation process as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans to slash…