The operation that began in the US shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has flown 46,300 sorties as of Aug. 1, according to data from 1st Air Force at Tyndall AFB, Fla. And, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command aircrews have flown the majority of those sorties. (For more about ONE, read “The Years of Noble Eagle.”
A U.S. Air Force F-22 shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace near Alaska. Officials said they took measures to prevent the balloon from gathering sensitive military information and are actively working to recover…