Pakistan Air Force pilots and aircrew got together with their US Air Force counterparts in early March at PAF Chaklala for an information exchange on aerial refueling. “With the planned arrival of more F-16s to Pakistan later this year, developing PAF air refueling expertise is critical to increasing their airborne endurance and enhancing their ability to counter the violent extremist threat in their country,” said Navy Vice Adm. Michael LeFever, senior US defense representative to Pakistan. Participating from the US side were members of the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron operating out of the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, who brought one of their KC-135s. The exchange included inviting the Pakistani hosts aboard the KC-135 to familiarize them with USAF air refueling equipment and procedures. (Islamabad release from US Embassy)
The future U.S. bomber force could provide a way for the Pentagon to simultaneously deter conflict with peer adversaries in two geographically disparate theaters, said Mark Gunzinger, the director of future concepts and capability assessments at AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, during a March 21 event. But doing so…