US Air Forces Central Command is in the preliminary stages of “prudent planning” for joint operations with Russia, including creating an integration center, if the current ceasefire agreement in Syria holds. AFCENT Commander Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian said during a Tuesday briefing that Russia and Syria need to “do the right thing” and keep the ceasefire for the rest of the week before the idea of joint operations could become a reality. The intelligence community is monitoring the cessation of hostilities and AFCENT is “developing processes to execute the mission, that is if we get that far,” Harrigian said. The “battlespace is complex” and AFCENT’s main priority is ensuring momentum continues and the countries inside of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve can retain “cohesion” in the future.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
