For the second time in a week, F-22 Raptors, supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, intercepted two formations of Russian aircraft off the coast of Alaska, North American Aerospace Defense Command announced. The Russian aircraft—Tu-95 bombers, Su-35 fighters, and ...
Maj. Gen. Mark Weatherington took command of 8th Air Force from Maj. Gen. Jim Dawkins Jr. during a June 12 ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. As the leader of the “Mighty Eighth,” Weatherington will oversee the Air Force’s bomber force, including more than ...
The Air Force sent groups of B-52s to the Pacific and Europe as bomber task force deployments within two days this week, prompting Russia to intercept one. On June 15, two B-52Hs from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., flew a ...
The Air Force’s fleet in fiscal 2019 maintained an overall mission capable rate of 70.27 percent, a slight increase from the previous year. Although some key combat aircraft, such as the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor, which hovers just over 50 percent, sustained low capability rates, service ...
Within just four days, the Air Force sent nuclear-capable bombers on long-distance training flights to Europe and the Pacific, while B-1s flew their own long-range missions in both regions. On May 11, B-1s from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., flew from their home base to ...
A B-52 assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., lost an access panel during a May 1 flyover to honor individuals on the frontlines of the fight against the new coronavirus in New Orleans. The panel was recovered, and no ...
Air Force Global Strike Command will regularly rotate a small number of bombers to the Pacific and Middle East theaters to maintain a regular deterrence presence and to conduct combat operations as needed, but it will no longer operate out of bases such as al-Udeid ...
The Air Force announced April 17 it will no longer base strategic bombers outside of the continental United States, marking an end to the service's 16-year continuous bomber presence at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. But before the last bomber left the island, USAF reminded ...
Air Force B-52s from three bases completed two complex, long-range training missions in less than a week, showcasing the bomber’s range and ability to integrate with each other and forces on the ground. On Nov. 21, B-52s from Minot AFB,...
Four B-52s and about 300 airmen returned to Barksdale AFB, La., after a four-week task force deployment to Europe that included training exercises throughout Europe and the Middle East. The bombers from the 2nd Bomb Wing flew 32 sorties at its deployed home base of ...
A B-52 is flanked by four Saudi Arabian F-15Cs as it flies over Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 1, 2019. Air Forces Central Command Twitter video screenshot. US aircraft continued their high-profile operations in Saudi Arabia on Nov....