A North Carolina Air National Guard C-130 from the 145th Airlift Wing in Charlotte is scheduled to rejoin aerial firefighting operations in the northern United States on Aug. 14. This will mark the first time that the wing is back fighting the wildfires across that region since the fatal crash of another of the wing’s specially configured C-130s during a mission in South Dakota back in July. The unit’s remaining Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130—dubbed MAFFS 8—will replace a California ANG C-130 currently operating from Boise Air Terminal, Idaho, that is slated for maintenance, according to an Aug. 10 release from MAFFS officials. “It is extremely important for our people to get back to this critical mission and we will carry the memory of MAFFS 7 in our hearts,” said Col. Roger Williams, 145th Operations Group commander. A total of four MAFFS C-130s from the California ANG’s 146th AW and Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd AW are currently activated.
Air Force F-16 pilots are testing out new sensors that could help maximize their performance and avoid deadly accidents while flying fast fighter jets under heavy G-forces and stressful conditions.