The Air Force sent five C-130s and four C-17s to airlift more than 145,000 pounds of food, medical supplies, heaters, vehicle parts and office supplies for relief efforts in Pakistan from Dec. 9-16. As of December 16, the USAF has airlifted more than 10 million pounds of relief supplies to the region affected by the October earthquake.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.