“Bamboo Eagle,” the Air Force’s new advanced combat-readiness exercise, returned for its second year in recent weeks, featuring more than 175 aircraft and 10,000 personnel from four countries for the service’s latest large-scale exercise.
Air
The Air Force's mission capable rates declined again in fiscal 2024, indicating the service has work to do to adequately fund spares and maintenance. The F-22 fighter and B-1 bomber both were available less than half the time.
Two U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratrofortress bombers flew over the Middle East on Feb. 17 in a “force projection” demonstration, U.S. Central Command announced. The mission also included live munitions drops and fighter escorts from regional partners, according to CENTCOM.
As the number of crewed spaceflights ticks up, the Air Force expects to train more of its C-17 transport crews to help pluck astronauts out of the water as part of its Human Space Flight Support mission
F-35s from the United States, Australia, and Japan are all soaring above Andersen Air Force Base in Guam as part of Cope North, Pacific Air Forces’ largest annual multilateral exercise.
China is set to increase its military activity around Alaska, likely including bomber flights, the top U.S. general in charge of defending North America said Feb. 13.
More than one-eighth of the U.S. Air Force’s entire fleet of F-22 Raptors lined the runway at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., on Jan. 31, as the 1st Fighter Wing flexed its ability to rapidly put airpower into action.
Maintainers swarmed an F-35 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., last month, testing out a procedure that has become common for older fighters but has never done before on the service’s fifth-generation jets: a “hot” integrated combat turn.
B-52H Stratofortress bombers have landed in England to kick off the U.S. Air Force’s first European bomber deployment of the year, service officials said Feb. 12. Some of the B-52s have already flown alongside French Dassault Rafales, Swedish Saab JAS-39 Gripens, and Finnish F/A-18 Hornets.