Moscow now says it will purchase 58 Su-34 fighter-bombers by 2015 and may receive its first new Tu-160 strategic bomber by the end of this year, according to the Russian News & Information Agency. The Su-34 is slated to replace the Su-24.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.