Air Force wants to use lasers to help protect rescue helicopters after Iran mission

Air Force wants to use lasers to help protect rescue helicopters after Iran mission

Four days after a daring daylight rescue mission whisked a downed American fighter pilot out of Iran under heavy fire, a notice appeared on a federal contracting website. The Air Force, it said, was seeking to upgrade its fleet of combat search and rescue helicopters to fend off heat-seeking missiles. The timing of the contract appearing just after the high-profile mission may have been coincidental, but it highlights two issues in the Air Force…