The second detachment to the Philippines wrapped up its deployment after 15 days of training missions and patrols of the South China Sea. The detachment of Navy EA-18G Growlers from the Electronic Attack Squadron 138 spent 15 days at Clark Air Base in the Philippines training with host country forces before redeploying to Misawa AB, Japan. The detachment was the second of a new rotation to the Philippines, replacing Air Force A-10s and other aircraft that deployed to Clark earlier this year. US officials have said a contingent will consistently rotate to the Philippines, including future deployments of advanced fighter aircraft.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.