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.”
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.