The Central Intelligence Agency has co-opted the Air Force to try to reclaim the A-12 Blackbird restored by the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum near the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The CIA now wants to display the spy plane that the Minnesota museum rescued from a scrap heap in 1990. The museum has enlisted the aid of its Congressional delegation.
Dozens of fighter jets gathered at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida last week to kick off one of the service’s biggest air combat exercises despite the government shutdown. More than 50 aircraft and 500 personnel are participating in Checkered Flag 26-1.

