Company test pilot John W. Conrad makes the first flight of the Navy’s LTV YA-7A Corsair II attack aircraft at NAS Dallas, Tex. Conrad will make the first flight of the USAF version of the SLUF (Short Little Ugly Feller-polite form) on April 5, 1968. A-7s would be used by both services in Vietnam and will still be in Navy service during Desert Storm.
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.
