Members of the 23rd Operations Support Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga., recently hosted the first class of HC-130 rescue aircrews in the unit’s C-130 flight simulator. This simulator can accommodate an entire HC-130 crew and presents these pilots, flight engineers, navigators, and communications specialists with stressing scenarios that they may encounter on a mission, but that cannot be replicated in actual training flights. “The simulation facility helps prepare the crew for events that could happen in a real-world scenario,” said SSgt. Ricky Lamm, flight engineer with Moody’s 71st Rescue Squadron. The simulator, which arrived at Moody in 2009, is part of the weeklong HC-130 training course that also includes classroom activities. (Moody report by A1C Nicholas Benroth)
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…