Air Force Space Command’s 50th Space Wing has deployed its Ground Mobile-3 satellite command and control operations vehicle and six airmen to Andersen AFB, Guam, aboard a C-17 airlifter. A little over two months ago, the 4th Space Operations Squadron had conducted a fit test for its GM-3 aboard a C-17, the culmination of some two years work. Prior to that, transporting the mobile satellite ops vehicle required a C-5 and cost a lot more money. The deployment marked the first overseas trip for a Milstar satellite operations crew in four years.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.