The 
Air Force Weapons School conducted its twice-yearly Mobility Forces Exercise, or MAFEX, at Nellis AFB, Nev., and the Nevada Test and Training Range. Nearly 70 aircraft, mostly C-17s and C-130s, participated in the mass air mobility drill on May 23 to practice a forced-entry operation. US forces had to enter a simulated defended enemy country, defeat air defenses, and put troops on the ground during the exercise, according to a May 24 Nellis release. The participating assets came from bases around the world and were synchronized to arrive on the range as a combined, orchestrated force. The C-130s and C-17s delivered more than 100 paratroopers and supporting equipment in airdrops and landings on an unimproved landing strip, states the release. MAFEX is part of the weapons school’s six-month weapons instructor course.
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…