Charleston Tackles Bright Star:

Nov. 27, 2007

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Some 60 airmen and several C-17 airlifters from Charleston AFB, S.C., recently deployed to take part in Bright Star 07, flying US and Egyptian soldiers from Kentucky to Egypt. First they provided airdrop opportunities in Kentucky, and then airlifted the troops to Egypt to complete the US Central Command-sponsored exercise. In Egypt, the C-17 force again provided airdrop training for the paratroopers. A fuel leak prevented one of the original C-17s from flying out of Kentucky, but Shauna Heathman reports that quick work by Charleston generated another aircraft and crew, putting the new airlifter with its load of soldiers only three hours behind the other two C-17s.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

Air Force Seeks More Companies to Build the Stand-in Attack Weapon

Air Force-Backed Hypersonic Aircraft Startup Flies Demonstrator

NATO Scrambles a Dozen Aircraft as Russian Warplanes Approach Alaska

Air Force Updates Scoring Charts for New Fitness Test

Related

New Air Force Safety Tool Forecasts Mishap Risk

March 10, 2026
When you check the weather, the forecast projects the chance of rain based on barometric pressure, wind, humidity, and other factors. Now the Air Force Safety Center is offering a way to forecast accident risks, a dashboard intended to help mitigate against factors that historically indicate higher risks for mishaps. 

CCA’s AI Pilots Step into the Spotlight

March 9, 2026
Just one year ago, Collaborative Combat Aircraft took center stage as then-Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin designated the two competing jets prototypes as the first unmanned fighters in Air Force history: General Atomics’ YFQ-42A and Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A. Twelve months later, it’s the autonomy software that’s flying those aircraft garnering the attention. Autonomy software, more than hardware, may prove the most valuable and enduring element of the CCA program.

Air Superiority Is More Than Denial

March 9, 2026
Operations Midnight Hammer and Absolute Resolve demonstrated the remarkable flexibility and overwhelming force possible when nations command control of the skies. It’s an object lesson to all who, having watched the carnage over more than four years of Russia’s war on Ukraine, some of whom have come to the erroneous belief that air superiority is no longer necessary…

Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser

March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.