Transport planes are often converted into bombers, but the Americans went further. Yesterday, on September 22, the YouTube channel The War Zone published a video of tests of the Rapid Dragon system, with which many non-combat aircraft can become missile carriers.
The video shows the loading of special pallets with mock-ups of JASSM-ER missiles into C-17 and EC-130 aircraft, as well as the process of their dumping and exiting the containers. The tests were conducted over the White Sands missile range (New Mexico) in August of this year.
Rapid Dragon system Tests
Lockheed Martin has developed Rapid Dragon pallets as part of the CLEAVER (Cargo Launch Expendable Air Vehicles with Extended Range) program. It is planned that such systems will allow non-combat aviation to drop "smart" missiles without entering the enemy's defeat zone.