Several Canadian Leopard tanks got a ride on the C-17 “Spirit of McChord” transport going into Kandahar AB, Afghanistan from Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan. The 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron’s Det. 1 from McChord AFB, Wash., moved the tanks and supporting equipment into Afghanistan for Canadian ground forces supporting the NATO mission. The 30-foot long, 100,000-pound tanks were positioned and secured by C-17 loadmasters before the flight using chains, tie-down mechanisms, and rings on the cargo floor to make sure the tanks and C-17 aircraft were not damaged. NATO plans to buy its own new C-17s in the near future.
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…