Air Force officials say the B-1B Lancer sniper pod could be operational as early as this summer after accelerated testing cut the length of the sniper pod program from nine to three months. The Global Power Bomber Combined Test Force performs the developmental testing on a system as well as the initial stages of operational testing because Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is part of the Combined Test Force.

The B-1B would be sent back to ACC for force developmental evaluation, the final part of operational testing in which tactics and training procedures are developed.

The B-1B provides a good platform for using the Sniper pod because of its unique capabilities. It carries the largest and most diverse weapon payload of any U.S. aircraft and can also loiter for extended lengths of time providing a persistent presence to the battlefield.

Needing a boost after a downbeat report leak, Lockheed Martin tested a prototype of its latest Joint Strike Fighter for the Marines earlier. The supersonic F-35 Lightning II lands just like a helicopter (with super lift engines) and thinks like a pilot.

The skies over Fort Worth, Texas, hosted a historic aviation milestone earlier when the priciest plane on Earth – - an improved version of the F-35 Lightning II that lands vertically like a chopper, made its first flight.

Its pilot definitely had the chops to do the job: He learned to fly short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) airplanes during Jimmy Carter reign as the U.S President.

August 14, 2005
A Helios Airways flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Athens, Greece, slams into a hillside outside Athens, killing 121 people.

September 5, 2005
An Indonesian Mandala Airlines jetliner crashes into a crowded neighborhood only moments after takeoff, killing 99 people on board and 44 on the ground.

December 6, 2005
An Iranian C-130 military transport carrying journalists hits a building in a Tehran suburb as the pilot attempts an emergency landing, killing 94 people in the plane and 21 on the ground.

May 3, 2006
An Armenian Armavia airliner plunges into the Black Sea while trying to land at the resort city of Sochi, Russia, in rough weather, killing all 113 people aboard.

July 9, 2006
A Russian S7 airliner crashes while landing on a wet runway in Irkutsk, Siberia, and bursts into flames, killing 124 people.

October 29, 2006
A Nigerian ADC Airlines plane carrying 105 people crashes shortly after taking off during a storm in Abuja, Nigeria, killing 96 people.

July 17, 2007
A TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 skids off the runway while landing in a rainstorm and hits a building in Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing all 187 people on board and 12 on the ground.

A US Navy helicopter was seemingly shot upon a humanitarian mission in the Philippines, which prompted the Navy to temporarily halt the said mission.

There were two bullet holes found on an MH-60 helicopter operating from USNS Mercy hospital ship.  The helicopter carried about 11 passengers about 50 miles inland.  According to Cmdr. Jeff A. Davis, a Navy spokesman, the holes appear to be an entry and exit point from a single bullet.  He said that it was unclear if the bullet struck while the passengers were on the helicopter.  There were no injuries and aircraft’s commander was unaware of any bullet striking the aircraft during the flight.

The humanitarian civic assistance mission, the Pacific Partnership 08, has been conducted between nations to provide medical, dental, construction and other services ashore and afloat.

The USNS Mercy was anchored in Cotabatu.  Davis stated in an e-mail that the mission commander has ceased all Mercy Pacific Partnership activities until proper assessment can be made.