A pair of maintainers with the 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron took a trip to Mosul, Iraq, to rescue a stranded C-130 cargo airplane. SSgt. David Harrelson and SrA. Brian Kundick, both deployed to Iraq from Pope AFB, N.C., conferred with the C-130 flight engineer SSgt. Robert Alexander, who reported leaking hydraulic fluid. Harrelson crawled into the tail to find a failed elevator booster pack—the device that enables the aircraft to elevate and descend—while Kundick went to work on uncooperative access panel bolts outside the aircraft. It was late night and Kundick could see where security forces were spotlighting for snipers only a few hundred yards away. All in a day’s work—Harrelson noted, “It’s not unusual to find parts that age aboard a 42-year-old aircraft.” They finished the job the next day.
Competitors Not Picked for CCA Look Forward to Increment 2
April 25, 2024
While none of the major aircraft contractors were selected to develop the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, all three say they are seeking further autonomous aircraft work for the Navy, foreign partners, or in the classified arena, and maybe future versions of the CCA itself.