The Air Force co-opted one of its newest airlifters to cut down a growing backlog of supplies needed urgently for coalition forces fighting the Taliban near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Air Force journalist Maj. Ann Peru Knabe reports that USAF C-130s normally make Operation Mountain Fury deliveries, but the need for multiple, large drops made the C-17 “perfect.” Loading up at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, a C-17 aircrew rigged recycled milk crates to cushion a load of more than 50,000 pounds, comprising 40 bundles of bullets, explosives, and rockets.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.