The Biden Administration approved the first Operation Fly Formula mission Thursday evening, with plans to ship Nestlé brand formulas from Switzerland to Indiana. The shipments are due to include three varieties of hypoallergenic formulas for children with allergies to cow's milk: Alfamino Infant, Alfamino Junior, and Gerber Good Start Extensive HA. The formulas, the White House said, have been given priority because similar formulas have been in short supply since Abbott Nutrition's Sturgis, Michigan, plant closed in February amid formula contamination concerns.

The date of the first flights has not yet been announced.

The Department of Defense is working to find commercial aircraft carriers, according to both the White House and the Pentagon.

"U.S. transportation command will leverage its partnership with commercial air carriers to contract and accelerate the improation of infant formula into the United States that meets our government's health and safety standards," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a Thursday press briefing.

Kirby clarified that the Pentagon would not be using military aircraft on the formula missions, saying that commercial contract carriers are likely to handle the job most efficiently, adding that even military aid to Ukraine is shipped via contract carriers.

"U.S. transportation command is going to be our lead agency for working with the interagency to find these inventories and try to get them here to the United States," Kirby said.

According to the White House, Operation Fly Formula shipments will bring the equivalent of 1.5 million 8 ounce bottles of formula to the U.S., more than approximately 246 pallets.

President Joe Biden announced Operation Fly Formula on Wednesday, to "speed up the import of infant formula and start getting more formula in stores as soon as possible," Biden said. At the same time, Biden announced that he was invoking the Defense Production Act to surge domestic formula production, mandating that supplliers send formula ingredents to manufacturers before other customers.

The federal government this week has greatly prioritized the infant formula shortage, as formula shelves at groceries and pharmacies across the country have been stripped bare. The shortage, suppliers said, began with supply chain difficulties. It was later exacerbated by the voluntary recall of a variety of formulas made at Abbott's Sturgis plant; four children fell ill, and two died, after consuming formulas that were suspected to have been contaminated with bacteria at the plant. The Sturgis plant may reopen within the next two weeks, after Abbott struck a deal with the federal government to reopen under strict conditions; the company said it would be operating at full capacity within six to eight weeks.

On Thursday, the Senate confirmed a bill that would make it easier for families using federal vouchers to buy baby formula during shortages; that bill, which was already approved by the House on Wednesday, goes to Biden's desk for final approval. The House also approved a bill that would appropriate $28 million to boost staffing at the FDA related to the formula shortage, though that may face a tougher test among Senate Republicans.