Dominican air force pilots, radar controllers, and officials visited Air Forces Southern’s combined air and space operations center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., along with the 309th Fighter Squadron and 607th Air Control Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, also in Arizona. The Dominicans recently acquired A-29B Super Tucano light attack aircraft and a ground-based radar surveillance network. They are also working to develop a command and control system to help them coordinate intercepting narcotics traffickers in Dominican airspace. The USAF airmen demonstrated live ground-control intercept procedures, flying Dominican officers in two-seat F-16Ds. They also provided a tour of the CAOC. “This visit provides an excellent opportunity for the [Dominicans] to leverage our lessons learned,” said Lt. Col. Edward Boxx of the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South. (Davis-Monthan report by Capt. Sarah Schwennesen)
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.