The Department of Veterans Affairs is considering offering easier access to disability benefits to airmen in the nuclear missile community. The weapon would give squads and platoons air firepower at their fingertips. What might have looked like an aging system not long ago now appears to be a workhorse that could be used for years to come. A new Navy plan seeks to improve flexibility of forces worldwide, while allowing aircraft carriers to remain deployed for longer periods of time. The Air Force Reserve's 301st Fighter Wing will receive the component's first two F-35A Lightning II fighters this summer. The U.S. Air Force would receive enough money to buy 51 F-35As in fiscal 2024 under the compromise defense spending bill lawmakers released. The MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter, which replaces Vietnam War-era Hueys, will be used to patrol nuclear missile fields across the northern United States. An Air Force analysis of 2.2 million airmen's medical records revealed 198 cancer cases among missileers and 5,063 cases across the wider service. Air defenders are one of the most deployed units with the lowest deploy-to-dwell ratios in the Army, senior leaders have said in recent years. Friday's drill involved F-35A fighter jets from both countries and other fighter jets from South Korea. Load More