Britain’s last airworthy Avro Vulcan nuclear jet bomber flew for the last time, after a herculean restoration effort returned it to flight in 2007, reported Britain’s The Telegraph. The Royal Air Force retired the last Vulcan—tail number XH558 in 1993, and at the time “no one expected a Vulcan to fly again,” Robert Pleming, Vulcan to the Sky Trust chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Without the team’s perseverance and determination, this would never have happened,” he added. The iconic bomber and Falklands War veteran dodged grounding in 2013, and “far exceeded the 250 flying hours promised before her restoration” becoming the highest flight-time Vulcan out of the RAF’s former fleet. The aircraft will be maintained in fast-taxi condition at the former “V-Force” bomber base at RAF Finningley, which is now a civil airport in east central England. The Vulcan will become the centerpiece of a new heritage and education center, and technical museum. “She will continue to delight visitors of all ages as she does today, with the added excitement of regular fast taxi runs,” according to the trust. XH558 touched down for the last time at Doncaster-Robin Hood Airport in late October. (See also Air Force Magazine‘s June 2011 Airpowe?r Classics entry on the Vulcan.)
China thinks it will be able to invade Taiwan by 2027 and has developed a technology edge in many key areas—but it is artificial intelligence that may be the decisive factor should conflict erupt, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.