Members of the 535th Airlift Squadron from JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, joined forces with the Navy’s Special Warfare Unit One from Guam to drop a 19,000-pound, rigid-hull inflatable boat from the back of a C-17 transport. Airmen utilized the maritime craft aerial delivery system, or MCADS, to dispense the boat during the January drill. “With today’s military going joint, it is essential that we merge our technologies and capabilities,” said SMSgt. Chuck Baker, plans and programs superintendent and airdrop loadmaster with Hickam’s 15th Wing. He added, “Each branch has their own specialties, but we need each other to make the overall mission a success. This is why the training in Guam was so important.” MCADS is designed to enable covert delivery of the specially designed boat without detection by enemy sensors or patrols. (Andersen report by SSgt. Mike Meares)
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.