Maintainers
at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., finished painting the first of nine Minuteman III ICBM payload transporters with the names of cities and counties surrounding the base. Honoring the base’s host city, the 341st Maintenance Group christened the first of the 66-foot-long vehicles the “Spirit of Great Falls.” By the end of the summer, the unit plans to emblazon a further eight vehicles with the titles: Electric City Endeavor, Choteau Challenger, Cascade Crusader, Wheatland Wayfarer, Judith Basin Journeyman, Fergus Ferrier, Lewis and Clark Explorer, and Teton Traveler, respectively. (Malmstrom report by Beau Wade)
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…

