The Small Diameter Bomb, a satellite-guided, 250-pound class munition, passes its first live weapons tests. Carried aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle at 15,000 feet, the SDB successfully strikes a scoring board at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Two days later, in its second test, the SDB destroys a Russian rocket launcher.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…