More than 50 airmen and two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters of the 56th Rescue Squadron, NAS Keflavik, Iceland, came home Monday after nearly two weeks in Bulgaria, where they demonstrated how to conduct combat search and rescue during Cooperative Key 2005. Many of the 21 allied nations attending the exercise do not have CSAR forces, so the USAF airmen were the center of much attention.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.