The Government Accountability Office in its May 3 report (see above) also commented on the Boeing HH-47 deployability performance factor, which has been labeled deficient. According to GAO, the Boeing baseline aircraft—the MH-47G—barely met the three-hour window for buildup to flight-ready status after airlift. Its time was two hours and 58 minutes. Air Force evaluators called the buildup demonstration “marginal” and noted a few exceptions (deleted as propriety). However, GAO did note that Boeing intended to incorporate a number of time-saving measures not installed on the baseline version and indicated that the Air Force believed these measures would enable the Boeing helicopter to meet requirements. GAO called the determination “not unreasonable.”
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.