Two F-1
6s from the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, S.C., last week flew the milestone 50,000th sortie for the Continental US NORAD Region portion of Operation Noble Eagle. CONR and 1st Air Force boss Maj. Gen. Hank Morrow called the 50,000 flights “a symbol to the nation of the service, dedication, and talent of the men and women” that support the CONR mission. When the CONR sorties are lumped together with flights flown over Alaska and Hawaii, the ONE count totals more than 51,500 sorties. (601st Air Operations Center report)
The Air Force just got its hands on its first operational T-7A trainer jet, and officials are already thinking about adding a slew of upgrades—including some that could help the service use the Red Hawk to train less experienced pilots.