The Na
tional Museum of the US Air Force has once again been bestowed with the highest recognition that a museum can receive by being reaccredited by the American Association of Museums. “Receiving reaccreditation further solidifies the Air Force’s museum as one of national prominence and prestige,” retired Maj. Gen. Charles Metcalf, the museum’s director, said in a release Aug. 13. The museum, located on the grounds of Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, initially was accredited in 1998, but all museums must undergo a review by the association at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status. News of the accreditation came one day after the museum announced the opening of a new exhibit for the RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle in its modern flight gallery. The exhibit features a Northrop Grumman-built Global Hawk aircraft that provided hundreds of thousands of images to US commanders in Southwest Asia between late 2001 and early 2006 during three tours of duty that encompassed 4,800 flight hours and 167 missions.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.