The 459th Airlift Squadron at Yokota AB, Japan, has traded its C-21s small transport jets for C-12J turboprops in a not quite even swap—four for three. Navy Seaman A.C. Rainey reports that the base has flown the C-21 for 21 years. The C-12s can haul more and land at some fields inaccessible to the sleek C-21.
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…