Installing C-17 Regularity:
Air Mobility Command has changed its modus operandi for C-17 operations in Southwest Asia—placing two squadrons in the theater for an entire 120-day air expeditionary force rotation. AMC leaders found that the old method of sending C-17 squadrons in for about 15 days of flying then sending them home created an unnecessarily high operations tempo for the air and ground crews. The new approach, which started last month, slows the tempo and provides continuity. Lt. Col. Lenney Richoux, 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron commander, said now he can organize “fliers into hard crews”—two pilots and one loadmaster that always fly together.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.