Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh assigned Maj. Gen. Thomas Masiello to command the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, announced the Pentagon. Masiello has been serving since May 2011 as director of special programs in the Pentagon’s acquisition shop. He will replace Maj. Gen. William McCasland, who has led AFRL since May 2011.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.