Escorted by F-16s and F-22s, B-1 bombers from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., flew a 10-hour strike sortie against heavily defended practice targets on the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex. “The objective of this operation was to validate the long-range strike capability of the B-1s as well as the F-22’s and F-16’s ability to escort them into an anti-access target area,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Kunkel, commander of the 90th Fighter Squadron, the F-22 unit at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, that participated in the US Strategic Command drill on April 4. Pitted against an E-3 AWACS and “blue air” F-16s operating from Elmendorf-Richardson to the south of the complex, the escorting F-16 and F-22 package lifted off from Eielson Air Force Base west of the complex, preparing a path for the B-1s. This operation marked the F-22’s first participation in a large-scale exercise while equipped with the new Increment 3.1 software upgrade. The F-16s came from Eielson and Misawa AB, Japan. (Elmendorf-Richardson report by Capt. Ashley Connor)
AETC Launches Blueprint with AI Training for All Airmen
Sept. 10, 2026
Strategic guidance from the command in charge of Air Force training lays out a plan to train all Airmen in artificial intelligence and build “Digital Airmen” across the force’s training and education enterprise.
