Aircrew from Air Force Reserve Command’s 908th Airlift Wing in Montgomery, Ala., proved that a C-130 could transport and orient an Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System while airborne. Linking to the aircraft’s Joint Precision Air Drop System for GPS data, these airmen helped show that it is possible to initialize the HIMARS fire control system in flight, minimizing the rocket launcher’s set-up time on the ground. This “hot panel” capability allows strikes against time-sensitive targets and reduces system vulnerability, said Army Maj. Michael Fitzgerald of the HIMARS program. “The Air Force’s ability to transport equipment and personnel around the battlefield and to locations that wheeled transport cannot go is imperative to deliver ground-based firepower in a timely manner,” added Fitzgerald. Pending evaluation of flight data, this testing will culminate in a live-fire demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (Maxwell report by Gene Hughes)
The total number of reported sexual assaults in the Department of the Air Force ticked up about two percent in 2024 while still trailing the total from 2022, as Pentagon officials say a hiring freeze on federal government civilian employees limits their ability to fill critical sexual assault prevention and…