One airman assigned to Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa is confirmed dead while two others are still missing, according to a base release. The three airmen were washed out to sea from the island’s northwest coast at 3:45 p.m. local time on Oct. 5 as Typhoon Phanfone raged around the island. The Japanese Coast Guard pulled the one airman from the sea; medical personnel at a local hospital later pronounced the airman dead. HH-60s from Kadena and Japanese Coast Guard are continuing to search for the remaining two airmen. Rough seas are complicating rescue efforts, states the release. The Air Force is withholding the names of the airmen for 24 hours, pending notification of their next of kin.
United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket is slated to fly its second national security mission in February—nearly six months after its first operational launch and almost a year after it was certified to fly military payloads for the Space Force.
