NATO members would do well to buy or lease some C-17s for their strategic airlift needs, the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, US Marine Corps Gen. James Jones said March 6 at a Pentagon press conference. According to Jones the European decision to go with an EADS A-400M airlifter, which is still on the drawing board, is shortsighted, since the aircraft won’t meet the whole requirement. Jones says the A-400M is “a tactical aircraft, not a strategic aircraft,” and added that “there’s a need for both.”
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.