The first C-17 airlifter assigned to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and named the “Spirit of Hawaii Ke Aloha,” has been painted by renowned aviation artist Keith Ferris for the Air Force Art Collection. Boeing, maker of the C-17, and Pratt & Whitney, engine producer, sponsored the artwork. The painting, which Ferris calls “Waikiki Sunrise,” pictures the C-17 flying over southern Oahu, above Diamond Head crater and Waikiki Beach. TSgt. Chris Vadnais reports that C-17 crews say the painting is “incredibly accurate.” Lt. Col. Scott Shapiro, 535th Airlift Squadron commander, says, “The weather’s right, the orientation of the jet is right, even the way the pilots are sitting is exactly right.”
A Defense Department team on the ground in Ukraine has been assessing what the country needs to protect itself from air, naval, electronic, and cyber warfare threats as Russian troops have gathered on multiple fronts, a senior Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine, describing an emphasis on what assistance…