Tensions on the Korean peninsula have not prompted any significant changes in the Air Force’s Pacific posture, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh reported Monday at a Pentagon press conference. Welsh noted that three B-2 bombers deployed to Guam for a “scheduled rotation” to Andersen Air Force Base and that this would be in addition to the usual bomber presence missions there. USAF forces also remain “ready” in South Korea, but have not been put on an especially high alert, Welsh reported. “Nothing additional” is being moved in response to the situation in Korea, he said.
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.