The KC-135, the first jet-powered tanker, makes its first flight. Numerous variants have been flown and the type has been used for everything from electronic surveillance to becoming an airborne laser laboratory.
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…