Capt. Pamela A. Melroy and Capt. John B. Norton, along with McDonnell Douglas pilots William R. Casey and Charles N. Walls, set a number of recognized altitude records with payload (for two different subclasses of jet aircraft) in a C-17A at Edwards AFB, Calif. A class record for greatest load (133,422 pounds) carried to 6,600 feet is also set on the flight.
The Pentagon is requesting funds to buy 85 F-35s in its 2027 budget, 38 of them for the Air Force, a number that analysts say is not enough to reverse service’s fighter shortfall.
