Air Frame: Year in Review, March 2011: A B-2A Spirit stealth bomber returns to Whiteman AFB, Mo., on March 20, 2011, after bombing military targets in Libya during the opening salvos of Operation Odyssey Dawn to protect Libyan civilians as civil war erupted in the North African nation. Also in March, airmen sprang into action as part of Operation Tomodachi to assist the people of Japan after a devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami pummeled that nation. On March 2, a jihadist-inspired gunman killed SrA. Nicholas J. Alden and A1C Zachary R. Cuddeback in an unprovoked attack in Frankfurt, Germany. Also in the month, the Air Force launched its second X-37B orbital test vehicle into space, and took delivery of its 268th and final MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft. Air Force photo by SrA. Kenny Holston
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.