Late last month, according to a Dec. 11 release from McChord AFB, Wash., airmen deployed to support Operation Deep Freeze in the Antarctic airdropped 30 bundles of fuel and other supplies from a C-17 to a scientific camp at Antarctic Gamburtsev Mountain Province, one of the most remote locations on Earth. It only took the airmen three hours to deliver a load that would have taken days or weeks by other means, according to Capt. Joe O’Rourke, a 7th Airlift Squadron pilot supporting Deep Freeze. The C-17 Deep Freeze force has since made three more airdrops to the remote camp. (McChord report by SSgt. Eric Burks)
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.