The 317th Airlift Group at Dyess AFB, Tex., took delivery of its 13th new-build C-130J transport. Brig. Gen. Michael Kim, mobilization assistant to Air Mobility Command’s director of operations at Scott AFB, Ill., delivered the new Super Hercules to the central Texas base on Dec. 15. Dyess is slated to receive 28 C-130Js overall to replace its legacy C-130s. The first airframe arrived in April 2010; the full complement is expected to be in place in 2013. (Dyess photo caption by A1C Jonathan Stefanko)
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.