According to a new Congressional Budget Office report, the optimum way to help the Pentagon reduce deployment times for US forces in the early stages of a conflict is to develop and purchase heavy-lift airships. CBO notes that airships “would carry more than 10 times the average payload of a C-17.” However, it goes on to say, they would only travel at one-fourth the speed and “high winds could still present problems,” not to mention “uncertainty about technical feasibility, operational performance, and cost.”
Loved Ones Mourn 6 Airmen Killed in KC-135 Crash
March 16, 2026
Tributes to the six crew members that died in the KC-135 Stratotanker crash in Iraq have flooded social media since the Pentagon released their identities March 14. They were the first Airmen to die while supporting Operation Epic Fury against Iran.