Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Friday that Gen. Lori Robinson will be nominated to serve as the next commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. If confirmed, she will become the first woman to head a US combatant command. Robinson, who currently serves as commander of Pacific Air Forces, would replace Adm. Bill Gortney, who has led the command since December 2014. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Robinson “has very deep operational experience” and is now “running air forces in the Pacific, which is a very challenging place for the Air Force and a very intense operational tempo.” In a statement released Friday, Carter said Robinson “has served our military with distinction and has been a pioneer and trailblazer from her first days as an officer.”
F-16 Tests ‘Rusty Dagger’ Extended-Range Missile
April 20, 2026
The Air Force recently tested the Rusty Dagger, a low-cost cruise missile, with the F-16, one of several industry offerings in the Pentagon's larger effort to field affordable weapons. The Air Force release states that the Team Eglin Test Enterprise conducted Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) testing at Eglin Air…