An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft flown by 163rd Attack Wing pilot Lt. Col. Paul Brockmeier, with sensor operator Master Sgt. Anthony Martinez, views the smoky San Gabriel Mountains of southern California in transit to a fire mission in northern California, late August, 2020. “The beauty of the sunsets doesn’t begin to mitigate the tragedy of the fires,” said Brockmeier. “But it’s always a beautiful evening when you’re flying to the aid of your fellow Californians.” Photo courtesy of Chalk 2 for the 163d Attack Wing.
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2021 USAF & USSF Almanac: Weapons & Platforms
June 30, 2021
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Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
A detailed guide to the aircraft, aerial target systems, weapons systems, and satellite systems in USAF and USSF inventory.
Click image to open 42-page pdf
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
The Air Force has begun depriving new trainees of more sleep and will soon ramp up the stress level in Basic Military Training to better prepare Airmen for the increased strain of combat operations such as Epic Fury.
The Air Force is accelerating its plans to field an MQ-9A replacement in the wake of heavy Reaper losses in operations against Iran, top officials said Sept. 3, and they’re targeting a price point of just $10 million per aircraft.
The U.S. is rotating fresh fighter squadrons to the Middle East to support the Trump administration’s open-ended campaign of economic and military pressure against Iran.
As U.S. allies look to establish sovereign military space launch capabilities, the Space Force is exploring ways to transfer lessons learned from its National Security Space Launch program to support its international partners.
An F-16 Air National Guard unit’s six-month deployment to Kadena Air Base, Japan, this year illustrated the capabilities the Guard’s oldest fighter units can still offer—but also the challenges they face, officials told reporters this week.
The Air Force recently conducted a virtual stress test of its command-and-control capabilities, linking Air Operations Centers in New Mexico and the United Kingdom and forcing commanders to run personnel recovery and strikes under simulated fire.
The last EC-130H Compass Call in the Air Force’s active inventory made its final flight Sept. 2, as the service prepares to retire the venerable electronic warfare aircraft and pivot to the new EA-37B.
The Air Force has ruled the M18 service pistol is “safe and reliable” after inspecting more than 100,000 of the service’s 9mm pistols, according to a Sept. 2 announcement. Leaders ordered a force-wide inspection after a July 20, 2025, discharge of an M18 killed an on-duty security forces Airman at…
Gen. Douglas Schiess assumed leadership of the Space Force on Sept. 3, succeeding Gen. B. Chance Saltzman as Chief of Space Operations during a change of responsibility ceremony here.
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