The Air Force says it can save more than $40.3 million a year and shave about 24 hours off cargo movement time by shifting the US center for Southwest Asia-bound cargo shipments from the southeast to the northeast. The Air Force has decided to make Dover AFB, Del., and McGuire AFB, N.J., the primary aerial ports instead of Charleston AFB, S.C., since DOD must transport much of the cargo via commercial trucks from northeast supply locations to Charleston, bypassing the closer Dover and McGuire airlift facilities. The action takes effect Jan. 1. Charleston, USAF’s premier C-17 base, now will focus on operations in South America and Africa, but it also will continue to ferry Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to Southwest Asia.
A record investment in research and development by the Department of the Air Force will help the United States win the long-term technology race with China, even while shrinking the fleet size before a possible mid-decade Taiwan contingency, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 17. “With the Air Force,…