Folks who were looking skyward in the Charleston, S.C., area last week got treated to a phenomenal sight as the smoke from flares released by a C-17 flying over the Atlantic formed into a “smoke angel.” Air Force officials say the sight is created by the vortex from the airlifter’s engines. C-17s from Charleston AFB, S.C., were flying a local training exercise on May 16.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.