Here’s what McCain said on the Senate floor: “I oppose the amendment. There has been a mobility capabilities study, which indicates that we have an acceptable number for this capability. We are looking at cuts in defense spending, and there are a lot of tremendous cost overruns. We are looking at rapidly escalating procurement costs. These additional aircraft are not needed. They are not needed today.” The study to which he refers, viewed by many insiders as being highly suspect, said we could get by with 180 C-17s. Maybe McCain knows something not yet vouchsafed to retired Gen. John Handy, who, as commander of Air Mobility Command, declared repeatedly the he needed a minimum of 222 C-17s in order to execute the air mobility mission.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…