The United States will provide airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violence in the Central African Republic, announced Pentagon Assistant Press Secretary Carl Woog on Monday. The US support comes after French Minister of Defense Yves Le Drian made a request for limited assistance to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel when the two spoke in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 8, said Woog. In response, Hagel directed US Africa Command to begin transporting forces from Burundi to the CAR, in coordination with France, said Woog. French forces, under the authority of a UN Security Council resolution, are assisting the African Union-led mission to provide humanitarian assistance in the CAR and establish an environment that supports a political transition to a democratically elected government there.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.