A C-130 and airmen with the 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo., took off on Wednesday to support firefighting efforts across the Western US. The Reserve aircrew and specially equipped C-130 responded to a request for assistance from the National Interagency Fire Center as wildfires burn in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and California, according to an Air Force Reserve Command news release. The unit will soon be joined by another C-130 from the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard, the release states. This is the first activation of a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System aircraft so far in 2016.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.