The Air Force wants to continue its radar lookout post on the remote island of Shemya, Alaska. In April, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Strategic Warning and Surveillance Systems Division released a request for proposal to continue operations of the Cobra Dane radar system. The $511 million contract covers operation, maintenance, support, and sustainment of the site for seven years, according to a May 16 Air Force Space Command release. The Air Force expects to award a contract late this year. The Cobra Dane system detects and classifies objects for US Strategic Command’s ballistic missile defense, along with tracking objects in Low-Earth Orbit.
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show of force following the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian interpreter by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.

