USAF mobility airmen from stateside and European air bases—and even the US Air Forces in Europe outpost at Lajes Field, Azores—rotate in and out of NAS Rota, Spain throughout the year to manage the flow of mobility aircraft transiting Rota to support war on terrorism operations. Air Force journalist A1C Jimmy McGuffin reports that 50 airmen on average are on temporary duty at Rota at any one time. For the airmen from Lajes, the duty provides an opportunity to work on the service’s strategic airlifters, the C-5 and C-17, aircraft they don’t routinely see in the Azores.
Navy CCA Program’s Shape Coming into Focus
Oct. 17, 2025
In announcing its Navy Collaborative Combat Aircraft contract, General Atomics has provided some clues as to where the service is heading with its version of an armed, autonomous fighter escort. It will likely be quite different from the Air Force version.
