A new-build C-17 transport aircraft arrived last week at JB Charleston, S.C., giving the 437th Airlift Wing its 60th C-17. Charleston’s Post and Courier reported that Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, flew the aircraft to Charleston from Boeing’s C-17 assembly plant in Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 3. The 437th AW operates Charleston’s C-17s in concert with Air Force Reserve Command’s 315th AW under an association. Charleston hosts USAF’s largest assembly of C-17s.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.