Air Forces Northern reports that it launched 150 fighter sorties, the bulk flown, as usual, by Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command aircraft, in the month of January. That brings the total number of fighter sorties flown since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to 35,350. AFNORTH has worked around the continued ground of about a third of USAF’s F-15 A-D model fighters. (See Data Points—Air Forces Northern Work Is Constant)
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…