Company pilot Henry E. Chouteau makes the first flight of the Northrop YF-17 at Edwards AFB, Calif. Although the YF-17 would not be selected as the winner of the Air Force’s Lightweight Fighter Technology evaluation program, it would become the progenitor of the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet.
Small satellites meant to improve the way the U.S. measures Earth’s magnetic field—an option to expand the military’s position, navigation, and timing enterprise—launched March 30 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.