According to GAO’s analysis of nearly 15,000 strategic airlift missions for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, AMC underutilized C-5 and C-17 aircraft on more than 97 percent and more than 81 percent of their missions, respectively, based on DOD’s standard payload planning factor. While the data would seem to indicate a glaring misuse of airlift capability, GAO emphasized that had AMC collected data on operational factors, these payloads might “indicate efficient use of an aircraft’s capacity.”
New B-52 Radar Makes First Flight
Dec. 12, 2025
The Air Force’s radar modernization effort for the B-52 Stratofortress entered flight testing recently, a “milestone” for the once over-budget system that senior leaders call the start of a new era for the Cold War bomber.

