Six B-52s trained alongside Royal Norwegian fighters in Northern Norway shortly after they deployed to Europe on Aug. 22. The task forces of B-52s deployed to RAF Fairford, England, from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., for a “long-planned training mission ...
The AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), the Air Force’s first hypersonic weapon, completed its last captive-carry test flight on a B-52 on Aug. 8. During the test, which was conducted off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A Instrumented Measurement Vehicle-2 transmitted telemetry and ...
A Navy E-6B Mercury nuclear command plane launched a three-tipped, unarmed Air Force nuclear missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in an unusual but long-planned exercise Aug. 4. Sailors and Airmen from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., aboard the E-6B worked with Airmen from ...
Personnel at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, briefly took cover after Iran launched ballistic missiles into the nearby Persian Gulf, which landed in the sea without incident on July 28, the U.S. military said this week. At ...
Two B-1s deployed to the Pacific on July 17, flying intercept training with Japanese F-15Js before landing at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for the first time since May. The two Lancers from the 37th Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., flew directly ...
Bigger fleets of aircraft are easier and less costly per aircraft to manage than small ones, but that may change as the Air Force moves toward the new Digital Century Series, Air Force Materiel Command chief Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr. said July 1. The ...
The unprecedented pace of bomber task force deployments to Europe recently has allowed USAF's strategic forces to train with allies they haven’t flown alongside before in areas generally unfamiliar to the bombers, the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe said. The task force flights, ...
Nuclear modernization concerns are again on the table for fiscal 2021 defense policy negotiations, as House lawmakers raise issues about staffing, program delays, and how to use the weapons themselves. The Air Force’s three major nuclear weapon upgrade programs—the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, the Long-Range Standoff ...
Two B-2s linked up with Norwegian F-35s north of the Arctic Circle on June 18 to demonstrate long-range strategic integration, as the Air Force is set to release a new strategy on how it will operate in the Arctic, the head of U.S. Air Forces ...
Maj. Gen. Mark Weatherington took command of 8th Air Force from Maj. Gen. Jim Dawkins Jr. during a June 12 ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. As the leader of the “Mighty Eighth,” Weatherington will oversee the Air Force’s bomber force, including more than ...
Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett tagged along on a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber training mission during a June 11 visit to Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. The trip earned Barrett a so-called “Spirit number”—an honor coveted by aviation geeks the world over.
Two B-1B Lancers on May 29 flew another long-range bomber task force flight to Eastern Europe, integrating with Ukrainian fighter jets and Turkish KC-135s for the first time, as well as with multiple other allied nations. The flight of B-1s from the 28th Bomb Wing ...