Air Mobility Command will station two C-17s at Ramstein AB, Germany, for four-month stints for the foreseeable future. The rotational deployment will give US Air Forces in Europe the capacity to move cargo more quickly into places like Africa, which is taking on more importance to the US military, and the Middle East, Stars and Stripes reports. Air Force Reserve Command will supply the C-17s and aircrews, the newspaper said on Jan. 31. The first C-17, from Charleston AFB, S.C., is already in place, having arrived in January. Its partner will arrive later this year from McGuire AFB, N.J., according to the newspaper. The rotational airplanes and aircrews will be known as the 779th Expeditionary Airlift Flight, or “C-17 Ram,” in base jargon. Ramstein is currently home to C-130s. USAFE will not be alone in having a C-17 presence on the European mainland as NATO is planning to operate three C-17s, if not more, in 2009 from Papa, Hungary.
The Pentagon’s head of research and engineering is prioritizing technologies that can penetrate and operate inside highly contested enemy territory. Top among them are artificial intelligence and autonomy. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said other priorities on the list include creating the technology and standards for…