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[...]
1994
JANUARY 4 At Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, the 435th Airlift Wing dispatches a C-130 Hercules with relief supplies to Bosnia. This unit consists of both Reserve and Air National Guard members.
January 10 Off the coast of Iceland, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters Air Rescue 206 and 208, 56th Rescue Squadron, save six sailors from a stranded tugboat amidst heavy seas; they receive a Mackay Trophy.
JANUARY 13 At Soesterberg Air Base, the Netherlands, the last remaining F-15s of the 32nd Fighter Group depart, ending a 40-year American presence there.
January 17-25 C-5s and C-141s
deliver 150 tons of relief supplies and 270 medical personnel after parts of Southern California are struck by a powerful earthquake.
February KC-135 tanker aircraft supporting Operation deny flight in Bosnia receive permission to overfly French airspace for the first time in 20 years.
February 3 At Hondo Field, Texas, the Air Education and Training Command receives the first T-3A enhanced flight screening aircraft.
February 5 A crew from the 317th Airlift Squadron, an Air Force Reserve unit, checks out in a new C-17 Globemaster III for the first time.
After a Serbian mortar attack in Sarajevo kills 68 and injures 200, four C-130s are dispatched to fly the wounded to medical facilities in Germany.
February 7 The Air Force Space Command launches a Titan IV/Centaur rocket which hurls the first Military Strategic and Tactical Relay Satellite into orbit. This device enhances ready, secure communications around the world during any conflict.
FEBRUARY 10 Lieutenant Jeannie Flynn becomes the Air Force’s first female F-15E-qualified fighter pilot.
February 18 At Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, the last remaining F-4G Wild Weasels depart for Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
February 25 Bitburg Air Base, Germany, is closed by the Air Force, which begins transferring F-15s of the 53rd
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Fighter Squadron over to Spangdahlem Air Base.
FEBRUARY 28 Over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation deny flight heats up when an F-16 piloted by Lieutenant Robert Wright, 526th Fighter Squadron, spots four Serbian J-1 Super Galeb attack aircraft violating the “no-fly zone.” He brings down three with Sidewinder and AIM-120 Slammer missiles while another F-16 downs the final Jastreb. The F-16’s aerial record is now 69 kills and no losses. This is also NATO’s first-ever military action.
MARCH The new T-3A flight screening aircraft is ordered to replace the older T-41 Mescalero trainer, which has been in service with the Air Force since 1964.
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This C-141 flight from Bujumbura, Burundi took on passengers who were fleeing from fighting in Rwanda. Evacuees were transported to the safety of Nairobi by USAF after they had been processed by the Marines in Burundi. (U. S. Department of Defense for Defense Visual Information) |
At Edwards Air Force Base, California, an AGM-84 Harpoon antiship missile is fired by an F-16 for the first time.
MARCH 13 At Vandenberg Air Force Base, two military satellites are placed into orbit for the first time by a Taurus booster rocket.
MARCH 15 In Washington, D. C., after the director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum unveils plans to exhibit the B-29 Enola Gay as a prop in a politically correct revisionist diatribe, an public outcry from Congress, veterans groups, and the news media halts the attempt in its tracks; the director is subsequently fired for distorting national history.
MARCH 18 In California, Norton Air Force Base, which has served as an important aircraft repair depot for 52 years, is ordered shut down.
MARCH 25 In Somalia, an Air Force C-5 Galaxy departs, removing the last American military personnel still there and ending Operation RESTORE HOPE.
MARCH 31 Aviano Air Base, Italy, is upgraded to become a NATO main operating base.
In light of ongoing aerial operations over Bosnia, two F-16 fighters arrive there to support them.
April At Ellsworth Air Force Base, the final 150 Minuteman II missiles are removed to comply with the 1992 Strategic Arms Reduction treaty.
April 6—12 In Africa, Operation distant
runner commences as Air Force transports evacuate citizens and foreign nationals from Bujumbura, Burundi, to Nairobi, Kenya. A genocidal civil war has broken out.
April 7 A Rockwell B-1B Lancer piloted by Captain Michael S. Menser sets a world speed record of 599.59 miles per hour by flying between Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, and Mullan, Idaho. Concurrently, a Lancer flown by Captain R. F. Lewandowski sets another speed record of 594.61 miles per hour over the same course.
APRIL 10 Over Bosnia, two Air Force F – 16Cs destroy a Bosnian Serb Army command post near Gorazde in retaliation for an attack on UN personnel. This is also NATO’s first air-to-ground attack, and the first close support mission of Operation DENY FLIGHT.
April 14 Over northern Iraq, F-15C fighters of the 53rd Fighter Squadron misidentify and accidentally down two Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in the northern no-fly zone, killing 15 Americans and 11 international observers. The pilots believed they were Russian- built Mi-24 Hind gunships of the Iraqi Air Force.
May 3 At Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, the last operational B – 52G is retired to the bone yard. However, the fan-jet powered B-52H continues serving into the 21st century.
May 6 At Tucson, Arizona, Lieutenant Leslie DeAnn Crosby becomes the first female Air Force Reserve fighter pilot once she passes through the F-16 RTU.
May 7—9 In Yemen, the outbreak of civil strife prompts six Air Mobility Command (AMC) transports to evacuate 623 citizens and foreign nationals to safety.
May 8 The Air Mobility Command (AMC) dispatches five C-141 Starlifters in support of Operation provide promise in Bosnia. By July 26, they will deliver 7,000 tons of supplies.
May 11-17 From Turkey, Operation provide assistance unfolds as Air Mobility Command (AMC) C-141 Starlifters convey 329 tons of supplies to thousands of refugees in Rwanda; they ultimately deliver 10,000 rolls of plastic sheeting and 100,000 blankets.
June-September As raging forest fires consume 2 million acres throughout six Western states, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard C-130 aircraft douse afflicted regions with 5 million gallons of fire retardant.
June 3 At Edwards Air Force Base, California, a C-17 Globemaster III piloted by Major Andre A. Gerner establishes a record 44,088 pounds to 6,600 feet.
June 22-30 In to Uganda, Air Mobility Command (AMC) C-5 Galaxies and C-141 Starlifters transport armored vehicles to assist UN peacekeeping forces in neighboring Rwanda.
June 24 The Lockheed F-117 stealth bomber receives the official designation “Night – hawk.” Previously, air crews referred to it as the “Wobblin’ Goblin” and “Black Jet.”
June 26 In the Ukraine, a C-5 Galaxy of the 60th Military Airlift Wing carries a 34-ton magnetic resonance imaging system for victims of the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
June 30 In Berlin, Germany, Detachment I, 435th Airlift Wing, is deactivated 46 years after the famous Berlin Airlift.
July The last production McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is delivered to the Air Force.
After Tropical Storm Alberto ravages the Georgia coastline, aircraft of the 507th Air Refueling Group flies in 1,000 pounds of supplies to assist flood victims.
July 1 In Kansas, the 184th Bomb Group becomes the first Air National Guard (Kansas ANG) unit to fly B-1B Lancers.
The Air Combat Command (ACC) yields responsibility for the nation’s nuclear ballistic missiles to the Air Force Space Command (AFSPACECOM), and now manages all missile warning, space surveillance, space launch, and satellite control functions.
July 21 Over Bosnia, small arms fire damages a C-141 Starlifter, and humanitarian operations are temporarily suspended. The aircraft returns to Rhein – Main Air Base, Germany, with 25 holes in its fuselage and wings.
At Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the Air Force transfers F-16s of the 86th Fighter Wing to Aviano Air Base, Italy, thereby concluding all fighter operations there.
July 24-October 6 Over Zaire, Operation support hope begins as Air Mobility Command (AMC) transports fly in humanitarian relief to thousands of refugees in nearby Rwanda. A total of 3,660 tons of supplies is delivered by aircraft from 22 airlift wings.
AUGUST 2 At Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, two B-52s from the 2nd Bomb Wing circumnavigate the globe in 47.2 continuous hours and five aerial refuelings, setting a new world record. They then land in Kuwait on the fourth anniversary of the Iraqi invasion.
AUGUST 3 A B-52 launches a Pegasus
rocket at high altitude, which then successfully places a satellite in Earth orbit.
AUGUST 4 Brigadier General Susan L. Pamerleau becomes the first female commander of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.
In Kansas, two B-1B Lancers from the 384th Bomb Group and the 184th Bomb Group (Kansas ANG), fly a 19-hour nonstop mission to Hawaii in another display of strategic air power.
AUGUST 5 Over Bosnia, after heavy weapons are stolen from a UN compound, two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs destroy a Serbian armored vehicle near Sarajevo in retaliation.
AUGUST 24—25 On Johnston Island, Pacific Ocean, Air Force transports evacuate over 1,000 people as a huge typhoon approaches.
August 31-September 10 In Cuba, Operation safe haven unfolds as the Air Force transports thousands of Cuban and Haitian refugees from crowded facilities at Guantanamo Bay to Panama.
September 9 At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the space shuttle Discovery lifts off with a crew of four Air Force officers and two civilian technicians.
SEPTEMBER 19 In Haiti, Air Force transports supply logistical support throughout the life of Operation uphold democracy.
September 26 At Poltava Air Base, Ukraine, a B-52 Stratofortess, a B-1B Lancer, and a KC-10 Extender make the first appearance of American warplanes since the shuttle-bombing missions of World War II.
October 4 F-16 Falcons replace the few
remaining F-4G Wild Weasel air defense suppression aircraft.
OCTOBER 10 In Kuwait, Operation vigilant warrior unfolds as Air Force warplanes arrive to deter possible Iraqi aggression in the Persian Gulf region. Within days the number of aircraft increases from 77 to 270, including F – 15s, F-16s, and A-10s.
OCTOBER 14—16 At Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, two C-17 Globemaster Ills perform their first logistical mission by conveying military supplies to Saudi Arabia. This 17.2-hour jaunt is also the longest flight logged by C-17s to date.
OCTOBER 26 In Washington, D. C., General Ronald R. Fogleman gains appointment as the Air Force chief of staff; he is also the first Air Force Academy graduate to hold this position. Chief Master Sergeant David J. Campanale also becomes chief master sergeant of the Air Force.
OCTOBER 30 At Vladivostok, Russia, a C-141 Starlifter arrives, loaded with 20 tons of medical supplies, blankets, and tarpaulins to assist flood victims.
October 31-November 1 In Kuwait,
a pair of B-1B Lancers fly nonstop for 25 hours from Ellsworth Air Force Base, North Dakota, to reach a bombing range.
This mission also marks the B-1’s operational debut in the Persian Gulfregion.
NOVEMBER 6—8 In Egypt, a pair of C – 141 Starlifters arrives with 37 tons of relief goods to assist the victims of recent flash flooding.
November 21—23 Over occupied Croatia, NATO and the Air Force strike Serbian airfields and missile sites at Ubdina, in retaliation for a Serb attack on Bihac.
In Kazakhstan, Project sapphire unfolds as two C-5 Galaxies remove 1,300 pounds of enriched uranium to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, for safekeeping from terrorists.
December 17-21 In Albania, the 94th Air Lift Wing dispatches a C-130 Hercules loaded with clothing, furniture, and beds to assist orphan shelters there.
December 22 At Edwards Air Force Base, the first of three Lockheed SR-71 Blackbirds arrives; they have been reactivated for research purposes.
December 29 Off the coast of Ireland, the 56th Rescue Squadron dispatches helicopters that save eight Dutch sailors from their sinking vessel.