Members of the 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron on a routine base-defense patrol outside Ali Base, Iraq, spied insurgents trying to set timers on rockets aimed at the base. The insurgents evidently spotted the security team and skedaddled without finishing the job. Even so, the airmen called in munitions specialists with the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron to destroy the rockets in place.
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.