Air Fo
rce Security Forces airmen, whether active or reserve, participate in various exercises and training to stay on top of their expanded post-9/11 mission. Two recent cases in point: Phoenix Warrior and Patriot Defender—both designed to maintain skills needed to not only defend airfields and aircraft but also operate in convoys and urban environments. The Air Mobility Warfare Center-run Phoenix Warrior at Ft. Dix. N.J. was on its first iteration, providing a 13-day predeployment course that many attendees said offered more extensive training than other exercises. Air Force Reserve Command sent 100 security forces airmen to Patriot Defender at Camp Swift near Bastrop, Tex., where training days lasted 16 “rigorous” hours.
B-21 Raider Conducts First Weapons Release Test
Nov. 13, 2026
The B-21 Raider conducted a weapons release test for the first time, the Air Force and manufacturer Northrop Grumman said Nov. 13. The weapons release, which took place the first week of November, marked the aircraft’s transition from a flight test aircraft to a functional weapons platform.