Pacific Air Forces airmen in the Philippines to participate in an annual exercise turned instead to aid mountain villagers caught in the horrific mudslide of Feb. 17. The 36th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, with aircrews and C-130s deployed from Yokota AB, Japan, transported relief workers and equipment. Airmen with the 36th Contingency Response Group out of Andersen AFB, Guam, were put on 12-hour alert to be ready to open an airfield or provide other assistance.
Lockheed Martin plans to enter the Advanced Tactical Trainer fray to supply the Air Force with a new jet to bridge undergraduate flight instruction and fighter training units, but the company declined to say whether it will offer a T-50A derivative, a different non-developmental airplane, or a clean-sheet design. Its…