NATO’s Heavy Airlift Wing at Papa AB, Hungary, recently opened a new hangar, allowing aircrew to work on C-17s year-round and increasing aircraft availability. The hangar complex, which has been under construction for the last three years, will allow aircrews to paint, wash, and provide maintenance on the three C-17s, which are shared by 10 NATO countries, as well as Finland and Sweden. Previously the aircraft needed to return to the continental US for maintenance, according to a US Air Forces in Europe release. The complex also includes a climate-controlled supply warehouse, a vehicle workshop, and an aerial port, according to USAFE. The Strategic Airlift Capability consortium is made up of some 250 troops, including about 60 USAF airmen. The countries have a 30-year agreement to share the C-17s, the release states. (For more information on the hangar, see also: Please Options.)
A Defense Department team is on the ground in Ukraine assessing what the country needs to protect itself from air, naval, electronic, and cyber warfare threats as Russian troops gather on multiple fronts, a senior Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine, describing an emphasis on what assistance can be…