The Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Air Refueling Group recently put together what may be a first of its kind in the Air Force: a training program that teaches KC-135 tanker crews how to perform specialized fueling operations (SFO): ground-based procedures that could help gas ...
The average age for America’s fleet of F-15C Eagles is about 38 years old, and many of the aircraft’s spare parts are no longer produced or can take days to order from a manufacturer. Luckily, the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing has a metals ...
Members of the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 133rd Security Forces Squadron learned to fly and operate the Skydio X2D, a quadcopter equipped with 4K cameras, night vision, a thermal sensor, and artificial intelligence that keeps the drone aloft so that operators can focus on gathering ...
Members of the Texas Air National Guard’s 147th Air Support Operations Squadron recently teamed up with Texas state agencies in Austin to try out a new technology that should help military and civilian first responders save lives faster in a natural disaster or humanitarian support ...
The No. 1 priority of the National Military Strategy (NMS) has been to “Defend the Homeland.” Some 94 percent of that mission falls to Air National Guard squadrons sitting 24/7 alert in Reagan-era F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft. That capability is now threatened, writes retired Maj. Gen. ...
Kadena Air Base, Japan, saw the return of a familiar aircraft type on Oct. 3 when F-15C Eagles from the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing and and the Louisiana Air National Guard's 159th Fighter Wing arrived to help keep up the continuous fighter ...
The United States Air Force (USAF) relies on the C-17 Globemaster III and it’s extraordinary transport capabilities to quickly and safely conduct missions worldwide – and has for decades. In August 2021, the C-17 and its aircrew expanded those powers,...
The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2023 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference from Sept. 11-13 in National Harbor, Md. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting one each weekday from now until the conference begins. ...
Thirty years ago, the National Guard Bureau established its State Partnership Program (SPP) by pairing 13 former Soviet bloc countries with state National Guards to bolster training and cooperation. Today, more than 100 countries around the globe are in the program, with 88 active partnerships. ...
Aerial refueling is a family business for Master Sgt. Kevin Clancy and his daughter, 1st Lt. Megan Hirlehey, who flew her first operational flight on July 6 aboard a KC-135 on which Clancy served as dedicated crew chief for six years.
Air Defender 2023, the largest air exercise in NATO’s history, wrapped up June 23 in Europe. While the Air Force shared hundreds of photographs from the exercise, here is a selection of some of the best.
The 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard helped scores of aircraft get across the Atlantic Ocean on their way to Air Defender 23 in Europe, a “monumental feat,” one officer said.