Lockheed Martin delivered the 14th new-build MC-130J special-mission aircraft to Air Force Special Operations Command. Aircraft 5713 departed the company’s manufacturing plant in Marietta, Ga., on Jan 9 for Cannon AFB, N.M., according to a company release on that same day. Cannon is the beddown site for these new MC-130Js, dubbed Commando IIs, which AFSOC intends to utilize for missions such as refueling of other special-mission platforms in flight, covertly inserting and extracting special forces, and resupplying them. The previous MC-130J arrived at Cannon last month. There are 27 MC-130Js on order thus far for AFSOC.
Canada’s defense minister Bill Blair said May 13 the Chinese spy balloon's infamous weeklong path over Alaska, Canada, and the continental United States in 2023 was a “wake-up call” for his country as he shuttled around Washington to sell Ottawa's bolstered defense strategy to his American allies.