The 18th Wing at Kadena AB, Japan, on the island of Okinawa has sent one of its KC-135s and crews to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, where they are training to refuel the new C-17 airlifter. TSgt. Chris Vadnais reports that the Kadena tanker aircrews rarely get to work with cargo aircraft and instead refuel mainly fighters. The difference? According to Capt. Mike Rossi, a Kadena pilot, the greater weight turbulence from the C-17 “pushes us around a little bit more from the back, so we have to take into account for that and just be prepared for any type of breakaway-type situations.”
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.