USAF fixed-wing aircraft have used BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System in combat for the first time. The service has fielded the laser-guided rockets—designed to minimize collateral damage—on A-10s and F-16s in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a BAE release. The Marine Corps fielded the 2.75-inch rockets on its AV-8B Harrier in March, according to a Navy release. Army and Marine helicopters have also used the rockets, which are qualified or demonstrated on more than a dozen platforms, in combat. The Air Force is buying its initial supply of rockets from the Navy’s inventory.
The latest round of environmental sampling for the Air Force’s Missile Community Cancer Study found trace amounts of potentially harmful chemicals called volatile organic compounds in the service’s ICBM facilities, but not at levels that would pose a health hazard, Air Force Global Strike Command announced Oct. 22.