Air Force leaders told lawmakers that the outcome of the past Mobility Capabilities Studies would have called for more C-17s had the service not been forced to sustain costly and less effective older model C-5s. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told House appropriators Monday that the Congressional hold on retiring C-5As leaves the service “with a reasonable amount of C-17s.” And, if that weren’t clear enough, Wynne responded to continued questioning with, the service is buying “enough” C-17s, “if we can’t get rid of the C-5s.” He explained that there are 59 A model C-5s that USAF would like to retire because the C-5A “normally breaks,” making it an “expensive airplane.” (Congress has prohibited the Air Force from retiring around 340 older aircraft of varying types; read “Under Lockdown.”)
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…