Capt. Pamela A. Melroy and McDonnell Douglas pilot Richard M. Cooper set two recognized jet aircraft class records for altitude with a 70,000-kilogram payload (32,169 feet) and greatest mass carried to a height of 2,000 meters (161,023 pounds) in a C-17A at Edwards AFB, Calif.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.