Northrop Grumman said Nov. 18 it has successfully conducted a demonstration flight, as scheduled, of its new Scalable Agile Beam Radar sensor, which the company is developing at its own expense for the current F-16 fleet, and officials say it’s adaptable to other platforms. Northrop expects to fly SABR on an F-16 in 2009. • The Northrop Grumman-led team, that includes Raytheon and Alliant Techsystems, fired the first-stage rocket motor for the Missile Defense Agency’s Kinetic Energy Interceptor, in the fourth of five planned static fire tests that left officials “very confident” the first stage will “perform as designed” in the actual flight test in 2009, said Anthony Spehar, Northrop’s KEI program manager; his counterpart at Raytheon, Chuck Ross, said using a “test-like-you-fly methodology” is keeping the program “on track.” • A group called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has filed a lawsuit against officials at Tyndall AFB, Fla., charging they have let environmental violations slide and asking for a copy of an Air Force Office of Special Investigation report, according to a Nov. 20 report by WMBB News.
Air Force Changes Rules for Pregnant Aircrew—Again
April 3, 2025
The Air Force is changing its policy for pregnant aircrew, generally reverting to rules set in 2019 that barred female aviators from flying during the first trimester—or from flying in aircraft with ejection seats at all—due to potential risks to the pilot and her unborn fetus.