The Air Force wants to replace the braking system on about 600 of its heavily used C-130 tactical airlifters, beginning in 2010. The change will improve the number of landings a Hercules can make from 200 with the current system to about 2,000. A1C Steele Britton reports that a team of engineers and technicians from Little Rock AFB, Ark., the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, and Air Mobility Command met recently at Little Rock to discuss the mechanics of testing the new system on 21 Herks at the Arkansas base.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.