Eight general officers from across the services met at Kirtland AFB, N.M., to review the status of the Air Force’s $3.4 billion strategic system modernization efforts. They include Minuteman III modernization, nuclear warhead modernizations, and cruise missile acquisitions. Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, military deputy to USAF’s acquisition executive, led this strategic systems portfolio review, the first of its kind in more than 20 years. “Although it has been a long time since we paid a lot of attention to nuclear acquisition in the Air Force, it is clear to me that the men and women acquiring our nuclear systems are extremely focused on meeting the number of challenges we face in modernizing our nuclear capabilities,” Shackelford said. The review took place during the first week of March. (Kirtland report by Lt. Col. Rodney L. Miller)
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.