Under the category of things missed, we report that the Air Force Research Lab’s Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland AFB, N.M., last month received the Air Force’s Modeling and Simulation Experimentation Award for 2006. A team of five (leader Rudy Martinez, 1st Lt. Joseph Friel, Brian Spanbauer, Beth Nayder, and Linda Lamberson) won the award for their work in advancing experimentation wargaming by employing high-energy lasers, high-power microwaves, and other models of DE weapons in warfighting simulations.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.