An E-3 airborne warning and control system aircraft from the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker AFB, Okla., was damaged while landing Aug. 28 at Nellis AFB, Nev., while participating in the Red Flag 09-05 air combat training exercise. The 32-person crew safely evacuated the aircraft, and a subsequent fire was quickly extinguished by emergency response forces, Nellis officials said. The AWACS was returning from a mission when the mishap occurred. The Air Force is convening a board to investigate the incident. Red Flag 09-05 began Aug. 24 and goes through Friday. (Nellis report by Charles Ramey)
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.