The US military on Feb. 24 concluded the 2009-10 Operation Deep Freeze season, wrapping up six months of logistical support to US researchers on Antarctica. This included 60 C-17 airlift missions, 330 flights of ski-equipped LC-130 transports, and sealift. Thirteenth Air Force at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, leads Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, which includes airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Coast Guardsmen, who perform this annual mission. “I couldn’t be more proud of our Air Force’s total force effort that supports the National Science Foundation mission in the Antarctic,” said Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander. This season saw several milestones, including C-17 aircrews further refining their ability to land at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in total darkness using night vision goggles. (JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam report by TSgt. Kerry Jackson)
The advanced F-47 sixth-generation fighter remains on track to fly in the next two years, the senior Air Force acquisition officer overseeing the program said Feb. 25, as the service continues on its ambitious schedule to debut the air superiority-focused fighter by 2028—only three years after the contract was awarded…