The Air Force and Missile Defense Agency last month successfully completed the trial period of the upgraded early warning radar at Thule AB, Greenland, thereby clearing the system for operations. In addition to its roles in tracking space objects and warning of ballistic missile launches, the Thule radar will now be an integral component of the ballistic missile defense system that is designed to protect the US and its friends and allies from missile attack. The radar upgrade took two years to implement. The modifications were primarily related to data-processing hardware and software and included no external hardware changes to the radar. (Thule photo caption by SrA. Cheryl Lui)
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.