Alert 5

Ex-Italian aircraft carrier Garibaldi begins voyage to become Indonesia’s KRI Gajah Mada

Posted on August 27, 2026 by alert5

Southeast Asia is set to gain its second aircraft carrier operator, following Thailand, which has held the distinction since it commissioned HTMS Chakri Naruebet in 1997. Indonesia’s turn arrived this week, as the carrier that will become its first, ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, departed Italy on Monday night bound for a new home port in Lampung.

Photo: LPhot Barry Swainsbury/MOD, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Ramstein Air Base sees historic taxiway landing

Posted on August 25, 2026 by alert5

For the first time in its history, an aircraft touched down at Ramstein Air Base without ever using the runway. On Aug. 18, a 37th Airlift Squadron aircrew of the United States Air Force landed a C-130J on a taxiway during a wing exercise, marking the first time an airplane has landed at Ramstein without using a runway.

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joseph Curzi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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U.S. Air Force retires last T-1A Jayhawk, closing out three decades of pilot training

Posted on August 22, 2026August 22, 2026 by alert5

The U.S. Air Force retired the T-1A Jayhawk on Aug. 20, quietly ending more than three decades of service for the twin-engine jet that trained generations of pilots bound for the airlift and tanker fleet. The last operational aircraft departed Vance Air Force Base for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, where it will be received into the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, known widely as the boneyard.

Team Vance commemorates the Air Force’s 75th anniversary, Sept. 18. The heritage T-1A Jayhawk plays a vital role remembering our history in delivering world-class pilots. (U.S. Air Force photos by Airman 1st Class Kathy Duran)

Media, airmen held at gunpoint while covering event at Vandenberg

Posted on August 20, 2026August 20, 2026 by alert5

Vandenberg Space Force Base’s public affairs office spent this week addressing fallout from an incident that left invited journalists and two of the base’s own service members held at gunpoint, disrupting coverage of a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Sentinel missile training facility.

Photo: USAF
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Whiteman AFB case signals shift in how USAF polices base security

Posted on August 14, 2026 by alert5

A Chinese national who returned to photograph Whiteman Air Force Base, home to the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, after being warned to stop has been sentenced to six months in federal custody, in a case that Air Force officials say reflects a broader shift in how the service is policing activity around its most sensitive installations. Whiteman is located in west-central Missouri, roughly 65 miles southeast of Kansas City, and is the only base in the country that hosts the B-2.

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Hailey Farrell, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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