Schwartz pointed out that, amid the wartime operations, Air Mobility Command undertook three major airlift-intensive relief missions. After the Indian Ocean tsunami, Operation Unified Assistance carried, in a very short period, 2,943 passengers and 3,786 short tons of cargo. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, AMC aircraft hauled 13,717 patients/evacuees and 5,170 tons of relief supplies. After the devastating earthquake in Pakistan, AMC airlifters transported 1,674 passengers and 5,549 short tons of critical relief supplies.
Canada’s decision to join a European-centered sixth-generation fighter program as an observer is another sign that U.S. allies are increasingly looking elsewhere for key weapons system procurements, experts said.