An Air Force C-17 broke an airdrop record on Sunday, when the airlifter delivered 32,400 pounds of humanitarian aid within 40 minutes to four locations in Afghanistan. The mission, conducted by a crew deployed from McChord AFB, Wash., marks the most cargo air dropped to four zones in the shortest amount of time from a single aircraft in the history of US airdrops, said Lt. Col. Charles Ciuzio, chief of the Air Mobility Division at the Combined Air Operations Center in Southwest Asia. The supplies included winter survival gear, tools, school supplies, food, and blankets.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.