New Orleans New Competitors Enter a Crowded Military Transport Market

摘要

As most Americans were riveted to the budget drama surrounding the sequestration process, they paid scant attention to France's military operations to help Mali eliminate the threat posed by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. More significant, there was minimal coverage in the US media of the Pentagon's support for the French and its regional allies in Central Africa, in terms of intelligence, air refueling services and airlift operations. During the first month of the French-lead coalition mission, US aircrews flew 43 C-17 GLOBEMASTER Ⅲ sorties and more than 1,090t of French military equipment and supplies to the region, again emphasising the importance of airlift to the success of contemporary military operations. Indeed, US strategic planning documents assert that airlift will remain vital to supporting the nation's "pivot to Asia" and continued interest in the Middle East through this decade.