Canada’s Air Force has just received the first of four C-17 strategic airlifters. CTV.ca reports that air officials had to fight some Canadian politicians, who maintained that the air force could continue to rent airlifters whenever needed. The Canadian Air Force Chief, Lt. Gen. Angus Watt, noted that the pool of rental aircraft is small and during a crisis “everyone’s trying to rent them at the same time.” The new Canadian airlifter could be deployed to Afghanistan soon.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III conducted virtual talks on April 16 with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, Beijing's Minister of Defense, marking the first direct talk between defense chiefs of the two nations in close to two years.