Meet the New Commando II

March 15, 2012

Air Force Special Operations Command changes the name of its new MC- 130J aircraft from Combat Shadow II to Commando II.

Related

Air Force Adjusting Plan for Maintenance Career Overhaul from Just 7 AFSCs to 14

Oct. 1, 2026
The Air Force will officially kick off a major overhaul of maintenance career field next year with a pilot program, but the plan for the revamp is still evolving—while officials once intended to condense 50 aircraft maintenance specialties down to just seven, now they are targeting 14 Air Force Specialty…

Airborne T-7 Links Up with Simulators in Air Force First

Oct. 1, 2026
Three T-7A Red Hawk trainer jets flew together at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, on Sept. 16—one physical aircraft in the air and two virtual ones controlled from simulators on the ground, all sharing one common operating picture.

Why the US Air Force Needs to Invest in Electronic Warfare

Oct. 1, 2026
United States air forces are engaged in combat operations today, and not all the aircraft are modern stealthy platforms like the B-2, F-22, or F-35. The venerable Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon remains the backbone of the U.S. Air Force...

Drowning in Data: New Report Says Space Force Needs Lasers Comms to Beat the Bottleneck

Sept. 30, 2026
The long-standing method for communicating data down from space via radio frequencies has the potential to create deadly data bottlenecks that could slow and stymie future operations, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The report makes the case for combining RF with optical communications…

Air Force Names 7 to Vie for New MMA Drone Program

Sept. 30, 2026
The Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit have selected seven companies to move forward on a program meant to produce a low-cost, semi-autonomous drone to succeed the MQ-9A Reaper, multiple sources confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine.