Maintainers at Fairchild AFB, Wash., noticed an issue with a KC-135 earlier this year and were able to stop it before it could have had a huge impact on the fleet. While working to fix a KC-135’s boom ruddervator torque tube, which secures the rudders that an operator uses to guide the boom during refueling, airmen with the 92nd Maintenance Squadron, discovered that the ruddervator’s bell crank was improperly installed. This could make the boom difficult to control and possibly risk the aircraft and the aircrews in them, according to a Fairchild news release. The airmen also noticed inaccurate wording in technical orders, which led to the incorrect installation, and submitted a correction to amend the technical orders for the entire KC-135 fleet to ensure that improper installation doesn’t happen again.
NATO Scrambles Fighter in Newest Response to Russian Drones
Sept. 16, 2025
NATO scrambled its first fighter Sept. 13 under its new plan to bolster its defenses against Russian air incursions that was put into place after an array of Russian drones flew into Polish airspace last week, the officials from the alliance’s military command said.
