Airmen at Andersen AFB, Guam, and from the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota AB, Japan, planned to make the first drop for the annual Operation Christmas Drop over the Micronesian Islands on Dec. 14. This event marks the 55th year the USAF airmen have collected donations and made the airdrops, providing training for the 374th’s C-130s, over the island chain. And, this year the team planned 74 drops over 71 islands, the largest in the operation’s history.
Facing competition from fast-growing startups, Lockheed Martin is speeding up production of an “affordable, scalable” hypersonic glide body, dubbed the Next Generation Glide Body, the firm said in a June 24 release.