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n Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130 on a humanitarian flight in Mali last week was struck by small arms fire, causing minor damage to its fuselage, reports Stars and Stripes. The MC-130 from the 352nd Special Operations Group at RAF Mildenhall, Britain, was on its second run to a military garrison that had been under siege from an armed force, possibly Taureg rebels. The AFSOC aircraft and aircrew were in Mali to participate in a bilateral exercise called Flintlock 2007, when the Mali government asked for assistance to resupply its garrison.
The Air Force plans to add external weapons pylons on the B-1B bomber, both to increase the number of aircraft that can test hypersonic missiles and expand the Lancer’s loadout as USAF transitions to the B-21 bomber.