A C-17 crew from McChord AFB, Wash., conducted an 11-hour mission, flying from Christchurch, New Zealand, Jan. 4 to airdrop critical equipment to a British fishing ship that had been stranded in ice in the Antarctic since it suffered engine failure on Christmas Eve. Active and Air Force Reserve Command aircrews and support personnel from McChord are deployed to Christchurch for Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica. The British company Argos Georgia Limited, which had exhausted a search for commercial assistance, asked for US military help and supplied the spare parts and flotation aids. (13th Air Force report)
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
