Multitask-capable flying crew chiefs are key to keeping the highly used C-130s flying in Southwest Asia. “We need to know everything, including engines, navigation, electrical, hydraulics, and fuels,” SrA. Christopher Sutton, an Air Force Reserve Command crew chief from Pennsylvania, told Air Force journalist Maj. Ann Knabe. Another AFRC maintainer, SMSgt. Edward Rife, said, “Fortunately, C-130s are extremely reliable,” but, he added, when they do break, the flying chiefs “come to the rescue.”
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.