UK foreign security delivers to Parliament the first quarterly report on Afghanistan, noting that the Afghan National Security Forces are expected to number 260,000 by the end of 2010.
Australian Department of Defense plans to invest A$1.6 billion in 48 force protection measures for troops in Afghanistan over the next three years; also, department releases redacted secret defense brief.
Oops!: In a campaign flyer, a North Carolina state legislator uses a photo of reenactors in WWII-era German uniforms to tout his pro-US military stance.
What happened to those nukes?: US military is looking into an incident in which the USAF lost communication for 45 minutes with 50 ICBMs siloed in the northern US.
As a result of bankruptcy reorganization, Russia’s Energia Overseas Limited will take majority ownership of Sea Launch, which provides satellite launch services from its sea-based platform at the equator.
Latest updates: With GATM done, this is this article’s final update.
KC-135R Stratotanker (click to view larger)
The goal of the KC-135 Global Air Traffic Management program is to update the US aerial tanker fleet’s avionics. The last KC-135 was delivered in 1966, and civil aviation has seen considerable changes to navigation and safety avionics since then. In order to help the USA’s critical aerial tanker fleet run more smoothly, and give them the option of flying in civil airspace, updates were required.
That has spawned a number of sub-programs, from Pacer CRAG to the current Block 45 avionics effort.