The US and Philippine air forces held a conference at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Aug. 29-31 to synchronize air power planning. Philippine Air Force Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Conrado Parra, Jr., a delegation of eight Filipino airmen, Pacific Air Forces Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Mark Dillon as well as 24 PACAF, Marine Forces Pacific, and Hawaii National Guard personnel took part in the fifth-annual talks, according to a PACAF release. US forces recently began deploying rotational air contingents to the Philippines in the wake of China’s military buildup in the South China Sea. “Our goal during these talks is to continue the momentum by strengthening and thickening the relationship between the two air forces by building on the successes of the past with a solid roadmap for the future,” Dillon said, according to the release. (See also: A Numbers Game.)
RTX’s Raytheon unit was able to “significantly” extend the range of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile using mostly software changes in experimental tests last year, expanding the reach and lethality of the standard U.S. dogfighting weapon, company officials said Sept. 15.
