A C-
17 from McChord AFB, Wash., made two passes over the South Pole on Dec. 18, airdropping 10 containerized delivery system bundles on each pass for a total of 22,372 pounds of supplies. It was the second such test of the C-17’s capability to airdrop in this “challenging” environment, said Lt. Col. Jim McGann, commander of the 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Christchurch, New Zealand. Using the C-17 for this part of the Operation Deep Freeze mission, instead of the ski-equipped LC-130s, enables the Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica to deliver up to four times as much supplies in a single mission to support the National Science Foundation. (13th Air Force report by Lt. Col. Toni Kemper)
NATO Scrambles Fighter in Newest Response to Russian Drones
Sept. 16, 2025
NATO scrambled its first fighter Sept. 13 under its new plan to bolster its defenses against Russian air incursions that was put into place after an array of Russian drones flew into Polish airspace last week, the officials from the alliance’s military command said.
