Company pilot Vern L. Carstens makes the first flight of the Beech Model 45 demonstrator, the prototype of what will become the T- 34A Mentor. The T- 34 is the Air Force’s first new primary trainer since World War II. Although the Mentor will be phased out of USAF service by 1961, the Navy will use the turboprop powered T-34C for primary instruction until the turn of the century.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.