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U.S. Air Force Academy dedicates memorial sculpture to Spirit 03 crew

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The U.S. Air Force Academy recently dedicated a memorial sculpture to honor the aircrew of the AC-130H Spectre gunship, Spirit 03. The ceremony was hosted by Lieutenant General Richard Clark, U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent, and attended by the family members of the aircrew and other distinguished guests. This event was a fitting tribute to the 14 Airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice during a combat mission on January 31, 1991, in support of Operation Desert Storm.

(U.S Air Force Photo by Justin R. Pacheco)

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F-22 #07-146 is back flying again after 5-years of restoration

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F-22 #07-0146 is back flying in the skies after a 5-year period of restoration. On May 4, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Philip Johnson, a functional-check-flight pilot assigned to the 514th Flight Test Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, flew the newly restored aircraft for the first time. The journey to restore this fighter jet to operational status was a challenging one, requiring the efforts of several agencies, units, and most importantly, a team of skilled airmen who worked tirelessly to make it happen.

Tail number AF-07-146, an F-22 Raptor assigned to the 3rd Wing, successfully takes off during its functional check flight at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 4, 2023. This functional check flight was the last test conducted over a five-year period to get aircraft 146 operational after its crash at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, in 2018. The flight was successful and aircraft 146 returned to the operational fleet that same day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class J. Michael Peña)

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F-22 now has a ladder that can be stowed inside the cockpit

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Operation Hoodoo Sea, a military exercise conducted by five Air National Guard wings and supported by two Air Force Reserve wings, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other government agencies, is currently being held in the coastal southeast of the United States.

A prototype portable camoflage, concealment and deception hangar is staged on the ramp as part of operation Hoodoo Sea on May 2, 2023, at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida. The excercise, led by the Virginia ANG, seeks to test and validate minimum force elements using multi-capable Airmen, executing functions across job specialties and across multiple platforms. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Bryan Myhr)

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MQ-9 has landed on a highway for the first time

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In a historic exercise, the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) conducted two successful highway landings in Wyoming during Exercise Agile Chariot. The MC-130J Commando II, an MQ-9 Reaper, two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and two MH-6 Little Birds all landed on Highways 287 and 789 on Apr. 30 and May 2, 2023, respectively.

An MQ-9 Reaper lands on Highway 287 during Exercise Agile Chariot, April 30, 2023, honing capabilities linked to Agile Combat Employment. Instead of relying on large, fixed bases and infrastructure, ACE uses smaller, more dispersed locations and teams to rapidly move and support aircraft, pilots, and other personnel to wherever they are needed. There are millions of miles of public roads in the United States, including federal, state, and local roads – with Agile Combat Employment, including Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) and Integrated Combat Turnarounds (ICT), it can become millions of miles of public runways, when necessary. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Carly Kavish)

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