The Air Force will issue the UH-1N helicopter replacement program request for information and requirements documents next Friday, the service announced Wednesday. In May, the service said there will be a “full and open competition” to replace the fleet that protects ICBM fields even though Defense Secretary Ash Carter testified in April there was an urgent need for replacements. That same month lawmakers urged the Pentagon to detail its plan to protect the nuclear forces at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., Minot AFB, N.D., and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., until the new helicopter comes online.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.