The Air National Guard-led 1st Air Force at Tyndall AFB, Fla., organized much of the hunt for famed aviator and tycoon Steve Fossett, engaging various aircraft and a USAF radar unit through the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall, reports Capt. Nathan Broshear. The California, Nevada, and Utah Civil Air Patrol flew light aircraft and the California and Nevada Air National Guards C-130 and HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft. On Sept. 5, CAP added an Airborne Real-Time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance-equipped aircraft to the mix, to aid in identifying objects in the mountainous terrain where Fossett was believed to have gone down.
Expanded production of the B-21 bomber can be accomplished at Northrop Grumman's existing Palmdale, Calif., facilities, the Air Force said. It also said test aircraft will be so simular to the production version that early examples could be used in combat if called for.