Air Force Reserve Command’s 911th Airlift Wing at Pittsburgh ARS, Pa., simulated a ground re-supply mission recently, flying eight C-130 Hercules between Pittsburgh and Rickenbacker Airport in Columbus, Ohio. The second part of Exercise Bold Effort involved a cargo airdrop at a designated drop zone near Burgettsown, Pa. Airmen from the wing’s 32nd Aerial Port Squadron verified coordinates and wind speed. The 911th Maintenance Group commander, Lt. Col. Kenneth Honaker, called the exercise, which included a classic “elephant walk” by the unit’s eight Hercules, “an extremely phenomenal group accomplishment.”
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.