Famed Boeing test pilot Edmund T. “Eddie” Allen and Lockheed test pilot Milo Burcham make the first flight of the Lockheed C-69 transport (the military version of the Model 49 Constellation) at Burbank, Calif. Allen was on loan to Lockheed for the occasion.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.