A US Air Force Reserve Command crew flew their C-130J stretch model Hercules from the Mississippi Delta to Germany and then 3,500 miles nonstop to the Dubai air show in United Arab Emirates. The AFRC C-130J from the 815th Airlift Squadron, Keesler AFB, Miss., made the 8,000-mile trip “with payload,” says Lockheed Martin. Company officials noted that the J model has to its credit 54 world aviation records for speed, altitude with payload, and short take-off and landing with payload. The 815th AS Flying Jennies received their first C-130J—the original shorter version—in 1999.
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…