We guess Air Force officials made their case about getting a few more C-17 airlifters to serve as replacements as the heavily used airlifters wear down, or, it could be that lawmakers just consider the Pentagon-imposed cap of 180 an arbitrary number. Either way, House appropriators sided with House and Senate authorizers by adding money to the 2007 defense bill to purchase more C-17s. (House appropriators added $789 million to replace three C-17s.) The effect, if passed by the House and Senate, would be to extend Boeing’s C-17 line beyond the expected 2008 shutdown date.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.