The Air Force announced yesterday that it is redeploying some aircraft from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, to McChord AFB, Wash., as a precautionary measure in case Mount Redoubt, an active volcano located about 100 miles southwest of Elmendorf, blows its top. Increased seismic activity associated with the volcano is raising concerns that it may erupt soon. As a result, the Air Force began relocating assets and about 200 airmen to McChord starting on Jan. 31. Three Air Force Reserve Command C-130Js on assignment from Mississippi made the trip on that day, followed yesterday by three of Elmendorf’s own C-17s. Additional aircraft may follow in the next day or two, the Air Force said. Their stay at McChord may last for several weeks, at a minimum, the service said.
As it develops new weapons to attack satellites, the U.S. Space Force is focused more on ground-based efforts where the technology is more mature, the service’s top general said April 3.