Air Force C-130s, C-17s, and aircrews are taking part in a NATO training exercise made up of 5,000 participants and 18 nations this month in Germany. Exercise Saber Junction 16 at Hohenfels Training Area, which will run through April 24, is focused on land operations in a joint, combined environment, according to a 31st Fighter Wing release. “This is what we train for, to see everything come into place on a scale this big,” Capt. Steven Marinos, aircraft commander with the 908th Airlift Wing, said in the release. Aircraft dropped paratroopers and large equipment across multiple landing zones throughout the four-week exercise.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.