The Missouri Air National Guard’s 131st Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base celebrated its 90th anniversary in late June. The unit today operates and maintains Whiteman’s B-2 stealth bombers together with the airmen of the base’s Active Duty 509th BW. The Air Guard wing’s flying unit, the 110th Bomb Squadron, traces its roots back to the 110th Observation Squadron, which was federally recognized on June, 23, 1923, flying the Curtis JN-4 Jenny, according to Whiteman’s June 27 release. During World War II, the unit flew Douglas A-20 bombers and Bell P-39 and Curtiss P-40 fighters in the Pacific theater, states the release. Over the years, the unit operated numerous airframes, including North American B-25s, Douglas B-26s, Douglas C-47s, Beechcraft C-45s, Lockheed F-80s, Republic F-84Fs, North American F-100s, McDonnell-Douglas F-4Cs, and McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) F-15s, states the release. The wing began transitioning to the Northrop Grumman-built B-2 in 2006, completing its first B-2 sortie two years later. (Whiteman report by SMSgt. Mary-Dale Amison)
There is a new entrant in the highly competitive field of collaborative combat aircraft—semi-autonomous drones meant to fly alongside manned combat aircraft. Northrop Grumman unveiled its new Project Talon aircraft to a small group of reporters at the facilities of its subsidiary Scaled Composites.
