The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, plans to hold the 68th Doolittle Tokyo Raider Reunion April 16-18 “with the promise of a good weather forecast,” according to the museum’s April 15 release. As part of the reunion activities, for which four of the eight remaining Raiders will be on hand, the museum plans to have 17 B-25 bombers for static display and flyover. The Raiders who will participate are: Lt. Col Richard E. Cole, co-pilot for aircraft No. 1; Maj. Thomas C. Griffin, navigator for aircraft No. 9; Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, co-pilot of aircraft No. 16; and MSgt. David J. Thatcher, engineer-gunner of aircraft No. 7. (For history of the World War II raid, read Air Force Magazine articles Doolittle’s Raid from April 2009 and Valor: First Over Tokyo from April 1989.)
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall caught a ride in the front seat of a modified, artificial intelligence-piloted F-16 on May 2, a high-profile show of confidence in the service’s autonomous technologies—and another key step in maturing that technology for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.