Company pilot Tony LeVier makes the first flight of the Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter at Edwards AFB, Calif. A landing gear retraction problem cuts the flight short, however. A full flight will be made March 4. Designed as a supersonic air superiority fighter, the F-104 will set a number of records for the US, but it will find greater utility for a number of other countries than it will for USAF.
As the Space Force prepares to field new fleets of satellites that can track moving targets in the air and on the ground, it’s working to ensure it has the organizational structures in place to onboard and operate those systems.
