The U.S. mission in Afghanistan will conclude Aug. 31 with almost all American personnel and equipment withdrawn from the country, said President Joe Biden on July 8. He also promised that Afghan interpreters will have a place in the United States after the U.S. leaves the country. “Thanks to the way in which we have managed our drawdown, no one—no U.S. forces, or any forces—had been lost,” Biden said. “Conducting our drawdown differently would have certainly come with increased risk of safety to our personnel. To me, those risks are unacceptable.”

As the last Americans leave Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command will look to space to support its continued counterterrorism mission against al-Qaida and Islamic State group remnants, U.S. Space Command confirmed to Air Force Magazine. America’s eyes in the sky will form the only intelligence picture until a new agreement is worked out with the Afghan government. Space-based capabilities include space control; position, navigation and timing; satellite communications; and missile warning, the command said.

The Air Force is still in the infancy of its push toward digital acquisition systems, but it won’t go back to traditional methods because the threat, the need for speed, and increasing costs demand a new way of doing business, acting Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Darlene Costello said. Speaking during a virtual Air Force Acquisition forum July 8, Costello said the old ways of doing business—using paper, ponderous development and test methods, and lengthy sustainment programs—won’t allow USAF to keep up with China, has shrunk the supplier base, and is costing far too much. Digital methods are the fix for all of those, and more, she said.

F-15s from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, have deployed to Iceland to take up the NATO Air Policing mission there for the second time in less than a year. The three F-15C/Ds, plus an F-15E from the 493rd’s sister unit, the 494th Fighter Squadron at Lakenheath, arrived at Keflavik Air Base for the mission, which protects NATO’s airspace in the northern Atlantic. U.S. Air Forces in Europe, in a statement, said the tail swap typically occurs because of maintenance issues or similar factors. While deployed, the Eagles will fly in Icelandic airspace for familiarization and will be certified by NATO’s Combined Air Operations Center to conduct the policing mission.

AFA’s Board of Directors voted to approve new bylaws in a bid to strengthen organizational leadership and open voting to every member. The vote must be ratified by delegates to AFA’s convention in September for the changes to take effect. “We voted to replace our complex and outdated Constitution with simplified Bylaws that will enable AFA to be more agile and responsive to opportunities and risks; more accountable to our members and stakeholders; and more effective in our mission to educate and advocate for American air power and space power and to support Airmen and Guardians and their families,” wrote AFA Chairman Gerald R. Murray, the 14th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, in a letter to members.