Late Friday USAF announced plans related to basing for C-17, C-27J, and MC-12W aircraft. Additional C-17 candidate bases are Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport at Martinsburg; Memphis International Airport, Tenn.; and Stewart International Airport, N.Y.—all must undergo an environmental impact analysis, following which, in November, USAF will announce preferred locations and expects to determine final basing in June 2011. On the C-27J, USAF released the basing criteria to Congress and state officials and expects to issue a list of candidate bases for formal training units in May, followed by a list for operational locations in June. For the MC-12W, USAF expects to begin site surveys and environmental assessments immediately to winnow the list of candidate bases—Altus AFB, Okla.; Beale AFB, Calif.; Key Field, Miss.; Langley AFB, Va.; Robins AFB, Ga.; and Whiteman AFB, Mo.—down to a preferred list, slated for release in late summer and followed by the final selections in spring 2011. (C-17 release; C-27J release; MC-12W release)
Air Force Conducts Test Launch of Minuteman III ICBM
May 21, 2025
The Air Force tested an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif,. at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time May. 21. The successful test saw the missile equipped with a single reentry vehicle travel more than 4,200 miles to strike a test site near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall…