The Syrian airfield prepare for reception of military aircraft of China
The latest news about fast emergence in borders of Syria of navy of China encouraged Syrians and res[...]
1982
JANUARY 18 At Indian Springs, Nevada, tragedy strikes as four T-38 Talons belonging to the Thunderbirds demonstration team crash into the desert floor, killing four pilots.
JANUARY 26 At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Michael Collins, a major general and former astronaut, flies his final flight in an F-16, then retires from active duty.
JANUARY 28 In Georgia, the Lockheed plant receives the first C-5A Galaxy transport to receive new wings. The cost of modifying 76 transports costs $1.4 billion but extends the service life of these giant craft by several years.
FEBRUARY 5 The Northrop “Tacit Blue” stealth technology demonstrator makes its first secret flight to evaluate radar crossreduction techniques. The so-called “Whale” makes a total of 135 clandestine flights during the flight program.
FEBRUARY 24 At Geilenkirchen Air Base, West Germany, the first Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft assigned to NATO arrives; 17 more are planned.
MARCH 3 At Suwon Air Base, South
Korea, Project commando unfolds and includes the first six A-10 Thunderbolt IIs to arrive in that theater.
MARCH 24 Comiso Air Base, Sicily, is appointed by the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) as a storage/launch – ing site for new cruise missiles.
MAY 4—8 In Turkey, the Air Force
deploys an E-3A Sentry AWACS plane to monitor Middle Eastern affairs for the first time.
June 10 At Castle Air Force Base, California, an all-female crew flies a KC – 135 aircraft belonging to the 924th Air Refueling Squadron, Strategic Air Command (SAC), for the first time. Their five-hour training mission includes a scheduled refueling with a B-52 bomber.
JUNE 14 At Hahn Air Force Base, West Germany, the first operational F-16
Falcon unit in the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) is the 313th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
June 21 Over Antarctica, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) KC-10 Extender delivers 67,400 pounds of aviation fuel in support of Military Airlift Command (MAC) resupply operations. This is also the southern-most in-flight refueling by an American aircraft and occurs only 750 miles from the South Pole.
July 1 At RAF Greenham Common, England, the 501st Tactical Missile Wing becomes the first of six ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) wings in Europe.
July 2 At Davis-Monthan Air Force
Base, the 570th Strategic Missile Squadron decommissions its remaining Titan II intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).
July 6-13 Over Africa, an Air Force C – 130 Hercules transport conveys 113 tons of food supplies to assist refugees from the Chadian civil war.
July 15 At Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) conducts its 1,500th missile test.
AUGUST 4 A KC-135 tanker aircraft retrofitted with CFM-56 turbofan engines flies for the first time. These new powerplants will extend the life of the KC-135 well into the 21st century.
AUGUST 30 At Edwards Air Force Base, California, the Northrop F-20 Tiger – shark, a lightweight air superiority fighter, performs its maiden flight.
SEPTEMBER 1 At Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, the Air Force Space Command becomes activated.
September 2 At Edwards Air Force Base, California, B-1B prototype No. 4 departs on a nonstop flight to Farnbor – ough, England. This is also the first overseas deployment of any B-1B.
September 16 A B-52 piloted by Captain Ronald L. Cavendish suffers a crippling in-flight emergency, yet manages to land safely through superior airmanship; Cavendish receives the Mackay Trophy.
SEPTEMBER 21 At Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, a cruise missile is fired by a B – 52G from the 416th Bombardment Wing during its first operational test. The bombers are undergoing modifications to carry six cruise missiles (ALCMs) under each wing.
November 14—19 At Eskisehir Air Base, Turkey, three F-5E Tigers of the 527th Tactical Fighter Training Aggressor Squadron are deployed to train the Turkish Air Force to cope with Soviet – style tactics.
November 16 At Edwards Air Force Base, California, the space Shuttle Columbia lands safely after orbiting Earth with four crewmen for the first time.
December 16 At Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, the first air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) are placed on alert by the 416th Bombardment Squadron.
December 24-30 The Military Airlift Command (MAC) transport aircraft deliver 87 tons of supplies to Yemen, then staggered by a major earthquake.