An Air Force Space Command launch team at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Aug. 23 conducted a routine test launch of a Minuteman III ICBM, sending the missile with its unarmed re-entry vehicle to a target near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. In addition to testing the reliability and accuracy of the missile from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., the Missile Defense Agency took the opportunity to gather data for use in future Ballistic Missile Defense System tests without paying for its own test missile. (Vandenberg report; MDA report)
Congress is making moves to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, but lawmakers have only a few days left to clear the procedural hurdles necessary to ensure troops get paid Nov. 14. The issue is particularly pressing for tens of thousands of uniformed personnel in the Air National…
