Lt. Col. Robert Chamberlain and crew set a dozen recognized class records for speed with payload (jet aircraft) in a Rockwell B-1B out of Palmdale, Calif. The brand-new aircraft is on an acceptance flight and flies a 500-mile closed course near Vandenberg AFB, Calif. This flight and one on Sept. 17 (see below) are instrumental in award of the 1987 Mackay Trophy to Det. 15, Air Force Plant Representative Office and B-1B System Program Office, Air Force Systems Command.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.