Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz awards Capt. Barry Crawford the Air Force Cross-the second highest honor for valor in combat-during a Pentagon ceremony. An Air Force Special Operations Command special tactics officer, Crawford was assigned to an Army SOF unit in Afghanistan on May 4, 2010, when he “placed himself at grave risk on four occasions while controlling over 33 aircraft and more than 40 airstrikes on a well-trained and well-prepared enemy force” during an intense 10-hour-plus firefight, according to his citation.
‘Angry Kitten’ EW Pod Tested on Search-and-Rescue HC-130
April 17, 2026
The Air Force recently tested its “Angry Kitten” electronic warfare pod on an HC-130J during Exercise Bamboo Shield, showing the pod can turn the rescue platform into a command-and-control node and protect it from enemy radars.The tests follow what could be the pod’s first use in combat after it was…