Personnel from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., are wrapping up a four-phase test program to certify the C-17 airlifter for a wider variety of dirt surfaces. The final phase, being conducted at Ft. Chafee in Arkansas now, will run through Nov. 3, reports the Times Record. The Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing at Ft. Smith is hosting the test group. The Edwards team conducted earlier testing at Ft. Hunter Liggett, Calif., Ft. McCoy, Wis., and Edwards.
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…