After 47 years of service, a C-130E transport assigned to Little Rock AFB, Ark., has been retired from service after recently completing its final combat mission in Iraq, an airdrop sortie delivering pallets of supplies. This aircraft, with tail number 9813, reached 33,220 flight hours. “To see this one go, especially since it is a good flyer, it is a sad day,” said Capt. Bradley Allen, 777th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. And a good machine it truly was. In 2007, for example, it had no open maintenance issues for the entire year and was rated a perfect aircraft; ready for flight. This C-130E will be placed in storage with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. (Balad report by A1C Allison M. Boehm)
Details Murky as ARRW Falls Short in Second Test
March 24, 2023
The second all-up flight of the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon on March 13 fell short of a fully successful test, but the Air Force isn’t saying what went wrong with the Lockheed Martin-built hypersonic missile. The defense giant's Missiles and Fire Control division recently said the ARRW is "ready…