The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing will become the test wing for new fuels mobility support equipment during its stint in Southwest Asia. USAF plans to install the equipment by Jan. 3, followed by an operational utility evaluation. The new system will require fewer personnel to operate it and fewer storage bladders and mobile refueling trucks. It shortens the fueling process by pumping fuel directly from storage bladders into servicing platforms. Officials expect a big improvement over the 1960s-vintage equipment currently in use.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…