Since there was minor damage when a C-17 airlifter collided with a KC-135 during an aerial refueling on Dec. 22, Air Force officials at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, say the service will not release the accident investigation report. The pilot of the borrowed C-17 was Col. William Changose, base commander at Hickam. He voluntarily stopped flying during the investigation, but he has now returned to the cockpit. According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Air Force did not discipline crewmembers in either the C-17 or the KC-135. Hickam received the first of eight C-17s to be based in Hawaii last week.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
