“Flight of the Lady Hawk”

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

Members of the 69th Reconnaissance Squadron at Grand Forks AFB, N.D., celebrated Women’s History Month in record-breaking fashion. An RQ-4 Global Hawk assigned to the 348th Reconnaissance Squadron landed March 29 after 34.3 hours in the air. Not only was it the longest military flight without air refueling on record, but the mission—dubbed “Flight of the Lady Hawk”—was accomplished with an all-female flight and support crew, according to an April 7 release. Lt. Col. Amanda Brandt, commander of the 348th RS, came up with the idea after learning that “several more female pilots” were to join the squadron. “I started to do the math [and found] we probably had enough that we could do an endurance flight,” she said. Brandt said she is proud that the flight was completed without involving other squadrons or units, though she is looking forward to “the day when an all-female flight is not special.”

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