Almanac: Bases and Stations

China may be flying its new H-20 stealth bomber, possibly seen in new imagery circulating on Chinese social media. If the imagery is authentic, the aircraft is not the expected flying wing but has large tail control surfaces.

The U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi forces stepped up their campaign against Islamic State fighters over the past week, including a confrontation with militants holed up in an Iraqi cave, the U.S. Central Command said Jan. 6. 

The Air Force’s 375th Operations Group Detachment 1 is a group of 27 pilots, mission specialists, flying crew chiefs, and other staff who perform a little-known mission upon which military aviation relies: combat flight inspection, or CFIN.

The U.S. Air Force VC-25 aircraft commonly known as Air Force One is scheduled to transport former President Jimmy Carter for the final time this week for services in Georgia and Washington, D.C., before he is laid to rest Jan. 9.

Air Force Special Warfare can improve how it teaches candidates teamwork, stress tolerance, and other nontechnical attributes, according to a new RAND report.

The Air Force is collecting data from flight tests of a subscale version of its Blended-Wing Body demonstrator, and using that data to revise the full-scale aircraft’s control software and final configuration—the first flight of which remains on track for 2027. Full-scale test parts, including wings, are in fabrication.

The final T-1 at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas left last month for the Boneyard, continuing a steady drawdown of the Air Force’s trainer for “heavies.” 

When Lt. Col. Dustin Johnson was ordered to deploy to the Middle East last year, he and his fellow F-22 Raptor pilots prepared for an unusual challenge. As America’s premier air superiority fighter, the F-22 was designed to take on advanced enemy aircraft, capable of maneuvering stealthily and cruising at supersonic…

Two new Chinese military aircraft flights revealed on the internet suggest China has a new medium bomber in development, as well as a smaller, fighter-class aircraft that could be a technology demonstrator or even an uncrewed combat aircraft, according to industry experts.