Officials at Beale AFB, Calif., say the base has flown its first operational Air Combat Command flight with one of the two RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle’s now assigned to the California base. It was “the first of many training missions designed to prepare our crews for missions over Iraq and Afghanistan and worldwide in the global war on terror,” said Brig. Gen. H.D. Polumbo Jr., commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale. The base received its first operational RQ-4 in 2004 and the second earlier this month.
Air Force Identifies Eight Crew Killed in B-52 Crash
June 17, 2026
The Air Force on June 17 identified the eight crew members who died in a fiery B-52H Stratofortress crash at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., two days earlier.