Air Force fighters will patrol the skies Feb. 1 around Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., as the Arizona Cardinals battle the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. The fighters will enforce the FAA’s temporary flight restriction zone over the Tampa area during the championship game, NORAD said in a release Jan. 28. Customs and Border Patrol assets will also be airborne during the event. “We want citizens to know that we are always on the job, and defending our homeland from air threats is our No. 1 priority,” said Maj. Gen. Henry “Hank” Morrow, commander of NORAD’s Continental US region. Last year, Air Force fighters protected the airspace around Phoenix when that city hosted Super Bowl XLII.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.