Testers at Edwards
AFB, Calif., successfully completed the first five-bundle sequential Low Velocity Airdrop for the stretched C-130J, according to AFFTC. The bundles landed only five yards off the planned point of impact. While the stretch J is working its way toward operational testing, the basic C-130J in late June made its first combat airdrop flying a mission over Afghanistan.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.