Late last month, according to a Dec. 11 release from McChord AFB, Wash., airmen deployed to support Operation Deep Freeze in the Antarctic airdropped 30 bundles of fuel and other supplies from a C-17 to a scientific camp at Antarctic Gamburtsev Mountain Province, one of the most remote locations on Earth. It only took the airmen three hours to deliver a load that would have taken days or weeks by other means, according to Capt. Joe O’Rourke, a 7th Airlift Squadron pilot supporting Deep Freeze. The C-17 Deep Freeze force has since made three more airdrops to the remote camp. (McChord report by SSgt. Eric Burks)
With upgrades, F-16s can serve as a numbers-builder in the combat air forces until the 2040s, and it’s not necessary to launch its successor yet, program officials said at an industry conference. “We anticipate hundreds of F-16s in active service for decades to come,” meaning into the 2040s, Col. Tim…