Inside the Air Force highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Air Force:

1. Raytheon's plans to upgrade the Air Force's Global Hawk ground control segment with a more modular, open architecture could facilitate a more common ground architecture for unmanned air platforms across the services.

Full story: New Global Hawk ground segment could enable greater commonality

2. The Air Force will likely not make a decision about whether to pursue launching the last legacy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program space vehicle until after a meeting next month with the Joint Requirements Oversight Committee.

Full story: Air Force to make DMSP-20 decision in mid-September

3. A new Government Accountability Office report criticizes the Air Force for not properly evaluating the negative impact of its plan to divest the A-10 and gives credence to lawmakers' complaints that the service acted too hastily in proposing retirement of the beloved close-air-support jet.

Full story: GAO: Air Force relied on limited data in its A-10 divestment decision

4. The Air Force's next solicitation for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle services will likely be for an experimental Space Test Program mission to launch a satellite capable of detecting nuclear detonations.

Full story: Air Force releases draft solicitation for next competitive EELV launch