Members of the 18th Communications Squadron’s cable and antenna systems shop at Kadena AB, Japan, have been replacing the base’s air-to-ground communication antenna towers since the beginning of the year. They are the Air Force’s largest such towers in Pacific Air Forces’ area of responsibility, according to squadron officials. This project is upgrading and, in some cases, replacing the nearly 30-year-old radio transmission and reception towers used for Kadena’s aircraft coordination. “This will provide a more reliable [radio frequency] capability to the air base,” said SSgt. David Hollars, 18th CS antenna systems supervisor. Air traffic controllers will have the ability to coordinate more flight-line traffic than ever before, according to the officials. Another major benefit of the renovation is that the towers will be much more robust in the face of typhoons. Work on the transmission towers is scheduled for completion in mid February. (Kadena report by A1C Maeson L. Elleman)
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.