US Air Force B-2 bombers flying from Andersen AFB, Guam, are dropping weapons on Australia’s Delamere bombing range this week as part of a bi-national exercise worked out last year. (News of the plan last year sparked a local outcry, as critics claimed that past training activity by Americans had spawned accidents.) The Christian Science Monitor reports that this marks the first time US aircraft have used the Australian range since the two countries signed a bilateral agreement in 2004.
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.