Boeing is in the midst of flight testing the new 30 mm cannons on the AC-130U Gunship at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Currently, Air Force Special Operations Command has asked Boeing to modify four AC-130Us with the new Bushmaster 30 mm cannons to give the Spookys greater standoff range and first-shot accuracy. (USAF announced the changeout of Bushmasters for the current 40 mm cannon and 25 mm gun earlier this year.)
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…