Peter Baker, long-time Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post, told attendees at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Sept. 15 that there is no new Cold War, despite claims to the contrary, but the Russians are not “the partner we hoped they’d be.” Now a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, Baker noted, too, that it should not have surprised anyone when Russian tanks rolled into Georgia, given Vladimir Putin’s penchant to “reassert authority” over former Soviet provinces. (Read more in An Emergent Russia)
The Air Force has finished modifying and testing the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft that will serve as a temporary Air Force One, the service announced May 1. All that’s left now is to finish painting the jet before it starts flying this summer.