In the latest test for the Joint Strike Fighter, the Air Force’s F-35A is set to undergo chemical and biological decontamination testing at Edwards AFB, Calif., this month. Airmen, contractors, and service civilians, have worked to finalize construction of the decontamination system during the past few weeks, according to a 412th Test Wing release. During the testing, an aircraft modified to collect data will be contaminated with safe simulants that mimic harmful agents and will then be towed into the facility—an aircraft enclosure protected by a tent that is separated with an air beam—to see if the contaminants can be removed with heat from field heaters and the Tactical Cargo and Rotary Wing Aircraft Decontamination systems. The testing of the F-35A will run through December; testing of the F-35B is scheduled for 2017. (See also: F-35 Finishes Weapons Surge.)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.