Airmen from Air Force Reserve Command’s 439th Maintenance Squadron at Westover ARB, Mass., tested the base’s new C-5 mobile tail enclosure, according to a base release. The MTE, “the largest structure of its kind in the Air Force,” is designed to shield a C-5’s tail section—and the maintainers working on it—from the elements when the aircraft is in the base’s smaller sized isochronal inspection hangar, which cannot completely accommodate the massive airplane. Members of the squadron brought a C-5 into the hangar on May 22 and then enclosed the tail with the MTE, completing the first run-through, according to the May 24 release. The Air Force began construction of the $5 million enclosure last year. (Westover report by SrA. Kelly Galloway) (See also video clip of the MTE test.)
USAF to Start Rotating Fighters to Misawa
May 12, 2025
The Air Force will rotate fighters through Misawa AB, Japan starting this summer to bridge the gap between the F-16 drawdown and the F-35 delivery, expected to start in Spring 2026. The rotation of fighter squadrons will continue until the base's new f-35 fleet achieves full operational readiness.