Earlier this month, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that he had joined the Air Force Caucus. He said in an Oct. 9 release, “There are a number of mission-related challenges facing Air Force installations in Mississippi and this group should give me another venue for representing those interests.” The Senator already was a member of the National Guard Caucus.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.