The avionics maintenance airmen supporting F-15E operations being flown out of Bagram AB, Afghanistan, had to work out a new process to get the aircraft equipment needing servicing from Bagram to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia where the airmen from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, work in a temperature controlled building, reports SSgt. Jasmine Reif. Bagram has no such facility, so the aircraft components—flight control computers, radar, and electronic countermeasures—have to be airlifted from Bagram and back again. Many of the components are classified and are shipped on USAF C-17s or C-130s, while others can go by commercial air. “We are the first [Air Expeditionary Force] rotation to try it, so we had to work out a few bugs,” says MSgt. Gardiner, 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Avionics flight chief.
With key members of Congress wavering on the possibility of a $350 billion defense reconciliation bill, defense experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Pentagon is likely drawing up budget backup plans—but such plans would face hard choices between high-end weapons and low-cost drones and other programs in…