A team of civil engineers from several bases, deployed as the 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE, has been installing an emergency barrier arresting kit 12 series for the airfield at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. The BAK 12 will enable aircraft equipped with tail hooks to make emergency landings at Bagram should they lose hydraulics or brakes, said TSgt. Barry Snyder Jr., the project manager and a power production craftsman. “The biggest obstacle we have faced installing the BAK 12 has been the weather,” said Snyder, explaining that, if they let the concrete freeze, “it will destroy the strength of the concrete, and we will have to rip it all out and pout it again.” Previously, Bagram operated with a mobile arresting system, but it had to be moved every year to prevent ground surface damage that could cause the system to fail. RED HORSE installed the first of two BAK 12s last November and should complete the second next month. (Bagram report by TSgt. James Law)
The Smithsonian’s announcement that an F-117A Nighthawk, tail number 85-0818, is headed to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, or NASM, is welcome news. The acquisition of this Nighthawk fills a long-standing historical gap—indeed, need—in the collections of what is generally considered the world’s premier air and space…
