An Air Force safety investigation board has concluded its look into the F-15E that crashed in Libya on March 21, a US Air Forces in Europe spokesman told the Daily Report. However, it’s not yet clear if USAFE officials will release information from that board or convene a follow-on accident investigation board, he said. The Strike Eagle, assigned to RAF Lakenheath, England, was operating out of Aviano AB, Italy, in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn when it went down over northeast Libya during a strike sortie. Two Marine CH-53 helicopters, two AV-8B attack aircraft, and a pair of MV-22 Ospreys operating from the USS Kearsarge, which was positioned in the Mediterranean Sea, recovered the pilot. Libyan civilians helped the aircraft’s combat systems operator. Neither crew member was seriously injured. US Africa Command previously announced that the aircraft suffered an equipment malfunction.
As commercial companies, universities, and research agencies develop new approaches to operating satellites at lower and lower altitudes, the Space Force is taking notice and considering how it might leverage those advances in both the near and long term.