Brig. Gen. Scott Goodwin, Air Mobility Command’s director of operations, led an aircrew that flew the Air Force’s newest C-17 transport from Boeing’s production plant in Long Beach, Calif., to JB Lewis-McChord, Wash. The airplane touched down at McChord on Feb. 20, according to the base’s Feb. 26 release. It joined the 62nd Airlift Wing, which operates McChord’s large complement of C-17s together with Air Force Reserve Command’s 446th AW. By our count, this airplane is the 219th C-17 that Boeing has supplied thus far to the Air Force. Overall, the Air Force has ordered 224 C-17s. (McChord report by TSgt. Sean Tobin) (See also Thinking Globally.)
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.