Explosive ordnance disposal specialists on Tuesday destroyed a World War II-era white phosphorous grenade discovered at Yokota AB, Japan, during construction on the east side of the base. They disposed of the unexploded ordnance via a controlled detonation. “Safety was paramount for us in responding to today’s events,” said Col. Bill Knight, 374th Airlift Wing commander. Construction workers found the UXO on Monday, according to Yokota officials. Base officials established a safety cordon and requested assistance from a Navy EOD team from Yokosuka, southeast of the base. The Navy team brought the UXO to a secure location on Yokota’s flight line before destroying it. This is the second UXO discovered and detonated at Yokota since December. The phosphorus grenade was significantly smaller in comparison and therefore had minimal impact on base residents and operations, said Yokota officials. (Yokota release)
The Space Force is looking for industry feedback on its plans to create a new “Mission Development Zone” at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., to support launch providers with space for additional payload processing capacity, test and assembly facilities, and potentially rocket and spacecraft manufacturing infrastructure.