Airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 910th Airlift Wing in Ohio who are members of DOD’s sole fixed-wing unit dedicated to aerial spraying on Wednesday adapted their unique capability to the largest oil spill response exercise—Safe Seas 2006—in coastal waters. This event had the airmen flying their specially equipped C-130s near San Francisco. Last year, they covered some three million acres along the Gulf Coast, spraying for mosquitoes and filth flies following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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.