Facing inclement weather, a lone, ski-equipped LC-130 departed the snowpack at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, evacuating seven critically injured sailors to Christchurch, New Zealand. After surviving a catastrophic fire at sea aboard a Korean vessel in the Ross Sea, off Antarctica, on Jan. 11, the badly burned fishermen were awaiting an Air Force C-17 for evacuation. Due to fog and persistent poor weather, officials delayed and ultimately scrubbed the C-17 mission, reported Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald. Instead, the New York Air National Guard LC-130 crew, members of the 109th Airlift Wing in Schenectady, elected to make the roughly eight-hour haul from McMurdo, touching down at Christchurch with the injured sailors late on the evening of Jan. 13.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
