On the day it is retired from service, the Air Force officially bestows the nickname Aardvark on the General Dynamics F-111 in ceremonies at the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth, Texas, where the aircraft was built. The new official name formalizes what crews had been unofficially calling the aircraft for years.
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.