Daily Report

July 9, 2025

Donald Pucket’s Medal of Honor

During an effective attack against vital oil installations in Ploesti, Romania, 1st Lt. Donald D. Pucket’s B-24 Liberator received direct hits from anti-aircraft fire just after “bombs away.” One crew member was instantly killed, six others were severely wounded, and...

Radar Sweep

Gift link

Trump’s New Favorite General

The Atlantic

Trump seems to have been drawn to Air Force General Dan “Razin” Caine at least in part because he loved his nickname—which happens to be Caine’s F-16 call sign. ... Heather Penney, a retired Air Force major who flew F-16s with Caine, put it this way when I spoke with her: “Making an offensive counter air push with Razin in the lead—man, everything died in front of us. He was just so good.”

China’s Two-Seat J-20 Stealth Fighter Poised to Enter Operational Service

The War Zone

A flurry of new images showing the two-seat variant of China’s J-20 stealth fighter has emerged online. As well as providing new views of the two-seater, which also now wears a darker paint scheme, recent imagery published on Chinese social media reveals the progress being made in other fighter programs, including the J-35 family of carrier-based and land-based stealth fighters.

Winston Beauchamp Retires from Federal Service After 29 Years at Air Force, IC

DefenseScoop

After nearly three decades of working for the U.S. government, Winston Beauchamp announced on July 4 that he’s departing from his role within the Department of the Air Force and leaving active federal service. Beauchamp began working for the department in 2015, and most recently served as the director of security, special program oversight and information protection within the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force.