Gen. Roger Brady, commander of US Air Forces in Europe, commended the C-17 strategic airlift consortium that operates three C-17s in a heavy airlift wing out of Papa AB, Hungary, calling it a phenomenal success story. The C-17 operation—with 10 NATO countries and Finland and Sweden participating—already has flown more than 1,500 flight hours in just over a year of operation. Addressing AFA’s Air & Space Conference Tuesday, Brady said, “Some of these nations couldn’t buy a C-17 with their entire defense budget, but they can buy hours in the program,” He noted that participating countries have scheduled a total of 3,165 hours at this point in time. The operation has produced dividends for aircrews as far as training and greatly improved cooperation and interoperability among allies who have flown sorties in support of operations from Afghanistan to the recent Haiti earthquake relief effort.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.