C-17 Drops Launch Vehicle: An Air Force C-17 flying over Edwards AFB, Calif., released a mockup of a Falcon Small Launch Vehicle, the second in a series of tests with the 65-foot, 65,000-pound mockup booster. The June 14 test vehicle was also the heaviest single item airdropped by the C-17, so far, says Kristen Pearson, 418th Flight Test Squadron Falcon program manager. The joint Air Force-DARPA Falcon SLV program is designed to produce a new low-cost method to boost satellites into low-Earth-orbit, but the Air Force also is using it to expand the C-17’s airdrop capabilities. AirLaunch LLC of Kirkland, Wash., builds the test SLVs, which are designed to simulate the Quickreach booster rocket.
KC-46’s Refueling Boom Damaged While Refueling F-22s
July 8, 2025
A U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker suffered damage to its boom while refueling F-22 Raptors off the coast of Virginia on July 8, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed, with reported radio communication from the crew indicating the boom “detached.”