Brig. Gen. Brian Robinson, vice commander of the 618th Air and Space Operations Center at Scott AFB, Ill., ferried a factory-fresh C-130J transport from Lockheed Martin’s manufacturing plant in Marietta, Ga., to Little Rock AFB, Ark., according to a company release. The aircraft, tail number 5752, touched down at Little Rock on Aug 21, becoming the seventh C-130J to join the 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock spokesman Arlo Taylor told Air Force Magazine on Monday. The squadron, a combat-delivery unit, is slated to receive nine C-130Js overall to replace its C-130Hs.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.