Now There’s a Flight Screening Award: We were a bit premature with our earlier report that Air Education and Training Command had awarded its initial flight-screening contract to Doss Aviation of Colorado Springs, Colo. First, the award had to clear environmental hurdles. That is done, says AETC. Doss gets to keep the 10-year $178 million contract and, for that, will evaluate Air Force candidates for pilot or combat systems officer (read our 2005 article on the new CSO here) training. Operations at the Doss primary facility in Pueblo, Colo., should begin in October.
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…