Mobility airmen from 62nd Airlift Wing at JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., deployed to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt to help retrieve a disabled Black Hawk needed for peacekeeping operations, according to an Air Force release. The airmen landed at a remote strip strip in El Gorah, Egypt, on Aug. 19, unloaded supplies, and then precision loaded the UH-60 within an hour for transport 1,700 miles to Germany where the helicopter is slated to undergo advanced maintenance, which could take up to several months. Without the C-17, the helicopter would have sat much longer before repairs, unable to support the task force or the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), which has tracked compliance of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty since 1982, said Army Maj. Kenneth Davis, commander of Aviation Company, 1st Support Battalion, Task Force Sinai, in the release. The MFO operates from 14 contingents across the Sinai and is heavily reliant on rotary lift for resupply and normal operations.
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.