A row of KC-135 Stratotankers taxi on the flight line at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash, Sept. 29, 2021. Following the taxi, 20 aircraft took off from the flight line, which provided an opportunity to showcase the readiness of Fairchild aircrews and the fleet of aircraft. Fairchild Facebook photo.
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 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., simultaneously launched 20 KC-135s on Sept. 29, marking the largest-ever minimum interval takeoff event for the base, according to a spokesperson.
“This was an impressive feat boasting the largest take-off of a KC-135 fleet at Fairchild Air Force Base,” according to a Fairchild press release. “Today we launched more Refuelers than are owned by whole countries.”
The readiness exercise, which included an “elephant walk” as the aerial tankers lined up before takeoff, tested Fairchild’s maintenance generation capabilities and its ability to launch multiple aircraft in short order.
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 combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.
The Air Force is about to start considering alternatives for eventually replacing the B-52 Stratofortress, even as it prepares to upgrade the decades-old aircraft to a J-model featuring new engines, landing gear, avionics, and radar.
The U.S. military conducted strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz on May 7, as the conflict with Iran flared up again—though officials say the ceasefire remains in effect.
The Air Force’s BACN may be cooked—the service plans to retire its entire E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node fleet in fiscal 2028 and equip aircraft to use satellite communications instead.
Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury make this crystal clear: Bombers that can precisely deliver large payloads halfway around the world are crucial assets. Given the small size and advanced age of America’s current bomber inventory, it is time to boost investment in the B-21 Raider to ensure long range strike remains a viable option at scale for the foreseeable future.
The Air Force has finished resurrecting a B-1B Lancer, completing a yearslong process to transform a bomber that had been stored for parts in the Arizona desert into the new flagship of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
Lockheed Martin’s aeronautics division is getting new leadership, with president Greg Ulmer retiring and Skunk Works general manager O.J. Sanchez tapped to succeed him.
F-22 Raptors from two squadrons have arrived at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, the latest rotation of fighters at the key Japanese base as its awaits its delayed F-15EX Eagle IIs.
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