The Air Force Weapons School has conducted its first exercise showing weapons school crews how to meld airlift, fighter, space, sensor, and intelligence platforms during combat airdrop operations. C-130s and C-17s from Little Rock AFB, Ark., and McGuire AFB, N.J., respectively, participated in the exercise over the Nevada Test and Training Range. Five months of effort produced an intensive, realistic scenario, including aggressor aircraft to “attack” some 30 airlifters. WPS student and C-17 mission commander Capt. Jaron Roux said it was “the first time we have done something of this magnitude, and there were no big mistakes; I think we did a good job.” (Report by A1C Ryan Whitney.)
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.