The C-130 Hercules has been doing some heavy lifting on the front lines in Southwest Asia. Recently, a group of maintainers with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron’s structural repair shop performed a month of repairs and maintenance at a forward location on a C-130 from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, that suffered structural damage when a tire blew. The Hercules was flown from Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, to the healing hands of the 379th EMS for repairs to its gear door. The team ordered replacements for some damaged parts and made others, returning the Herc to duty without a stateside visit.
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other data systems to monitor U.S.…