The MH-53 Pave Low helicopter that was the lead command-and-control platform for the daring Son Tay raid into North Vietnam in November 1970 went on permanent display July 7 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, the museum reported yesterday. This airframe, dubbed “Magnum” because its tail number shared the same last three digits as the famous 357 gun, flew for 38 years, including stints in Bosnia and Iraq, in addition to Vietnam. Its final combat mission before retirement was in Iraq on March 28.
House lawmakers unveiled a new reconciliation package July 15 with $60 billion for defense, $290 billion less than the Pentagon has been seeking, a day after a Senate vote to advance the annual defense policy bill failed—developments that show the perilous state of the Pentagon’s ambitious plans for fiscal 2027.