The 15th Airlift Wing, Hickham AFB, Hawaii, took delivery on July 18 of its eighth and final C-17 advanced airlifter, completing a remarkable transformation of the unit. The new C-17 was named “Spirit of Kamehameha-Imua,” after one of Hawaii’s most revered historical figures. The wing had been a support unit until early this year, when it began to receive the alirfters. It is not a fully operational airlift unit. The aircraft are expected to play a major role in force mobility throughout the Pacific.
Facing competition from fast-growing startups, Lockheed Martin is speeding up production of an “affordable, scalable” hypersonic glide body, dubbed the Next Generation Glide Body, the firm said in a June 24 release.