Earthquake relief in Pakistan continues, as the Pentagon says it soon will increase the number of US troops within the country from about 560 to more than 1,000. USAF has additional airlift sorties planned, some to haul troops, supplies, and equipment into Pakistan, and others—principally for C-130s—to air drop supplies into remote areas.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…