Lockheed 
Martin turned over the first HC-130J Combat King II personnel recovery aircraft to Air Combat Command. Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, ferried the new aircraft from Lockheed’s production facility in Marietta, Ga., to Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., where it will join the 79th Rescue Squadron. “This is such a significant milestone for the personnel recovery community. The capabilities of the new HC-130J are a magnitude greater than any of its predecessors,” said Schwartz after touching down on Sept. 24 with the airplane. The J model is capable of being refueled in flight and boasts feature like new electro-optical sensors, improved navigation, and enhanced-life wing structures. ACC’s 1965-vintage HC-130P/N fleet will gradually retire as J models enter the inventory. Air Force officials expect HC-130Js to begin regular duty at Davis-Monthan in early 2013. The Air Force has 11 HC-130Js on order, but plans to procure 37 in total. (Davis-Monthan report by A1C Nicholas Benroth) (Lockheed release)
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…