Maj. James E. McArdle Jr. and his four-man crew in an HH-3 helicopter from the 33rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Osan, South Korea, rescue 28 Taiwanese seamen from a sinking ship in the Yellow Sea during a nighttime mission. McArdle earns the 1979 Mackay Trophy, awarded for the most meritorious flight of the year in the Air Force.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
