Boeing Says It Must Close Line This Year: Boeing officials say they must have new orders for the C-17 airlifter this year or they will have to close the production line. Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems chief, Jim Albaugh, told Dow Jones Newswires that the company has not gotten any new foreign orders since the four it is building for Australia, so it will have to start shutting down the line, if Congress does not approve an unfunded request from the Air Force for seven additional C-17s. Buying more than the currently planned 180 C-17s has support in both houses of Congress.
Earlier this spring, the 388th Fighter Wing proved just 12 Airmen can operate an F-35 contingency location, refueling and rearming the fighters at spots across Georgia and South Carolina. The demonstration, part of exercise Agile Flag 23-1, marks yet another proof of concept for the Air Force’s plan to send…