There is a unit at Ali Base, Iraq, the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Ammo Flight, that has six airmen who handle all the countermeasure requirements for C-130s of both the US and Iraqi Air Forces. They maintain a munitions stockpile of 661 items, valued at $1.8 million, and each type of ammo has a different service life—inspection and reclassification is a neverending cycle, reports the Ali Times. And, then there’s the everyday task of replenishing the chaff and flares used by the airlifters.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.