Aeronautical 
Systems Center officials at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, have asked industry what promising technologies could be part of the next-generation tactical airlifter dubbed the joint future theater lift capability, or JFTL. This platform, the notional replacement to legacy C-130s, is eyed for fielding in the mid 2020s. USAF officials intend to use the feedback they receive from last week’s capability request for information posted at the Federal Business Opportunities website to support the Air Force’s Fiscal 2014 program objective memorandum. The CRFI is meant “to investigate the realm of the possible,” states the notice. The Air Force wants JFTL to be able to operate routinely in “complex, austere, unimproved/unprepared landing areas” in environments where “increased capacity, speed, payload, range, agility, access, depth, precision, simultaneity, and survivability will be at a premium,” states the document. Responses are due by Dec. 7. (CRFI document)
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.