Lt. Col. Joe M. Jackson, flying an unarmed Fairchild C-123 transport, lands at a forward outpost at Kham Duc, South Vietnam, in a rescue attempt of a Combat Control Team. After a rocket-propelled grenade fired directly at his aircraft proves to be a dud, Jackson takes off with the CCT on board and lands at Da Nang, South Vietnam. He is later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.