Despite the heavy rains of Tropical Storm Hanna that blanketed much of northern Virginia, the Centennial of Military Aviation celebration took place Sept. 6 at Ft. Myer, Va., to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of a series of flights made there by Orville Wright. (Read more about this history in The First Military Airplane) The anniversary event included the display of the working reproduction of the Wright Model A airplane—a 41-foot-wingspan design powered by a 28-horsepower engine—constructed by members of The Wright Experience. It will be on display throughout 2009 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center before moving to its permanent home at the future National Museum of the United States Army at Ft. Belvoir, Va., about 15 miles south of Ft. Myer. (SAF/PA report by SMSgt. Matt Proietti)
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.