A small kit nestled into an empty compartment in the RQ-4B Global Hawk’s wing has solved the prickly problem of finding a suitable emergency landing field. Because Global Hawk requires a special tow-bar for ground handling, it was limited to a few emergency sites that are equipped for its needs. Prompted by cost, the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, created a simple solution. Engineers designed a “divert kit” comprised of a tow-bar adapter and main-undercarriage locks, contracting with a local company to bring the device from concept to operational deployment in just three weeks. The kits, which cost $2,000 and weigh a mere 14 pounds, are “an excellent example of “doing more without more,'” said Col. Karl Rozelsky, ASC Global Hawk Division chief. Eight of the kits are already deployed on aircraft worldwide. (Wright-Patterson report by Daryl Mayer)
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
