1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Arkansas
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Arkansas is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the states diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U. S. Interior Highlands, to the forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States, the capital and most populous city is Little Rock, located in the central portion of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of the state, such as the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area, is a population, education, the largest city in the eastern part of the state is Jonesboro. The largest city in the part of the state is Pine Bluff. The Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15,1836, in 1861 Arkansas withdrew from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Upon returning to the Union in 1868, the state would continue to suffer due to its reliance on slavery. White rural interests continued to dominate the politics until the Civil Rights Movement. Arkansas began to diversify its economy following World War II and relies on its service industry, aircraft, poultry, steel, tourism, cotton, and rice. The culture of Arkansas is observable in museums, theaters, novels, television shows, restaurants, wright, and physicist William L. McMillan, who was a pioneer in superconductor research, have all lived in Arkansas. The name Arkansas derives from the root as the name for the state of Kansas. The Kansa tribe of Native Americans are closely associated with the Sioux tribes of the Great Plains, the word Arkansas itself is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw word, akakaze, meaning land of downriver people or the Sioux word akakaze meaning people of the south wind. In 2007, the legislature passed a non-binding resolution declaring the possessive form of the states name to be Arkansass which has been followed increasingly by the state government. Arkansas borders Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, Oklahoma to the west, Missouri to the north, as well as Tennessee, the United States Census Bureau classifies Arkansas as a southern state, sub-categorized among the West South Central States. The state line along the Mississippi River is indeterminate along much of the border with Mississippi due to these changes. Arkansas can generally be split into two halves, the highlands in the northwest half and the lowlands of the southeastern half, the highlands are part of the Southern Interior Highlands, including The Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains. The southern lowlands include the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Arkansas Delta and this dual split can yield to general regions named northwest, southwest, northeast, southeast, or central Arkansas
3.
Air National Guard
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When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the state governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States and they are jointly administered by the states and the National Guard Bureau, a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force that oversees the National Guard of the United States. The ANG of the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands have no aircraft assigned, ANG units typically operate under Title 32 USC. However, when operating under Title 10 USC all ANG units are operationally-gained by an active duty USAF major command. ANG units of the Combat Air Forces based in the Continental United States, conversely, CONUS-based ANG units in the Mobility Air Forces, plus the Puerto Rico ANGs airlift wing and the Virgin Islands ANGs civil engineering squadron are gained by the Air Mobility Command. The vast majority of ANG units fall under either ACC or AMC, established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U. S. S. When not in a status, the Air National Guard operates under their respective state. The exception to rule is the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Because both state Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States relatively go hand-in-hand, Air National Guard of the United States units or members may be called up for federal active duty in times of Congressionally sanctioned war or national emergency. The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service, even traditional part-time air guardsmen, especially pilots, navigators/combat systems officers, air battle managers and enlisted aircrew, often serve 100 or more man-days annually. As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only one weekend a month, the Georgia Air National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard previously flew the B-1B Lancer prior to converting to the E-8 Joint STARS and KC-135R Stratotanker, respectively. In addition, the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard transitioned from flying the F-15C/D Eagle at St and these proposals were eventually overruled and cancelled by the U. S. Congress. As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command and they are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force, the state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a major command of the USAF if federalized. Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the moral and physical standards as their full-time active duty Air Force. The same ranks and insignia of the U. S. Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, the Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service members home state or equivalent. The creation of the regiments was caused by the perceived need to defend the Bay Colony against American Indians. This organization formed the basis of subsequent colonial and, post-independence, state and this distinction accounts for why there are no National Guard components in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps or U. S. Coast Guard
4.
Arkansas Air National Guard
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The Arkansas Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Arkansas, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element of the Arkansas National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Arkansas Air National Guard are not typically in the normal United States Air Force chain of command unless federalized. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Arkansas through the office of the Arkansas Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Arkansas Air National Guard is headquartered at North Little Rock, under the Total Force concept, Arkansas Air National Guard units are an Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Arkansas ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The unit operates the C-130 Tactical Airlift Instructor School, where instructors are trained to they can return to their units. The Arkansas Air National Guard origins date to 28 August 1917 with the establishment of the 154th Aero Squadron as part of the World War I American Expeditionary Force, the 154th served in France on the Western Front, then after the 1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units. The unit was reorganized with the establishment of a permanent air service in 1920 as the 154th Observation Squadron on 24 October 1925 and it is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. The 154th Observation Squadron was activated for one year of training on 16 September 1940, the unit completed its one-year training and returned to state control, but was recalled to active duty on 7 December 1941 as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units, the modern Arkansas ANG received federal recognition on 27 May 1946 as the 154th Fighter Squadron at Adams Field, Little Rock. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state, on 2 October 1950, the 154th Fighter Squadron, along with detachment B, 237th Air Services Group and the 154th Utility Flight reported to active duty for service in Korea. The unit went to Langley Air Force Base, VA where it was re-equipped with the F-84E fighter, the 154th flew its first combat sortie 2 May 1951. Initially operating out of Itaeke, Japan the unit moved to Taegu. The 154th returned to Arkansas and was relieved from active duty 1 July 1952, on 22 August 1962, the 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 184th TRS becoming the flying squadron
5.
Air Combat Command
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Air Combat Command is one of ten Major Commands in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force at the Pentagon. ACC is headquartered at Langley Field, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia and its commander is General Herbert Hawk Carlisle, with Major General Jerry D. Harris Jr. as Vice Commander, and Chief Master Sergeant Steve K. McDonald as the Command Chief Master Sergeant, in addition, ACC augments the forces of the United States European Command, United States Pacific Command and United States Central Command when needed. Air Combat Command consists of approximately 98,000 active duty members, in 2015, responsibility for the B-1 Lancer bomber fleet was also transferred from ACC to AFGSC. Air Combat Command was created 1 June 1992 after the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command, Strategic Air Command, furthermore, ACC had some KC-135 and KC-10 aerial refueling tankers and C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in its composite, reconnaissance, and certain other combat wings. In 1993, control of the ICBM force was transferred to the Air Force Space Command until transferred again to Air Force Global Strike Command on 1 Dec 2009. S, Air Force and the U. S. Navy. Historically, combat command was an air unit designation. During 1941 and early 1942, the air units of the War Department, formerly known as the GHQ Air Force. The AFCC was dissolved in the reorganization of the United States Army, effective 9 March 1942, not long after activation, ACC underwent organizational and mission changes. The first such change was the transfer of the combat search. With the realigning of search and rescue units, ACC gained additional resources, the formal transfer took place on 1 February 1993, when the Air Rescue Service was assigned to ACC. On 2 July of the year, the ARS was disestablished. The USAF Combat Rescue School was subsequently assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB, one of the most significant changes for Air Combat Command resulted from an overhaul of flying training responsibilities. Following its activation, ACC was responsible for aircrew training, including initial weapon system. On 1 July 1993, the 58th and 325th Fighter Wings—F-16 and F-15 training units transferred from ACC to Air Education and Training Command. Concurrently, Luke AFB, Arizona, and Tyndall AFB, Florida, for which those respective wings were the host units, however, on 1 October 2012, both Tyndall AFB and the 325th Fighter Wing returned to the control of ACC. The next major change resulted from a fine-tuning of aerial refueling. From its activation, Air Combat Command had assumed ownership of some C-130 Hercules theater airlift assets and KC-10 Extender, there was historical precedent for the reassignment of C-130s to Air Combat Command
6.
184th Attack Squadron
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The 184th Attack Squadron is a unit of the Arkansas Air National Guard 188th Fighter Wing located at Fort Smith Air National Guard Station, Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 184th is equipped with the MQ-9 Reaper, in June 2014 the squadron transitioned from A-10C to the MQ-9. Authorized by the National Guard Bureau in 1953 at the 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, organized at Fort Smith Regional Airport, Arkansas and extended recognition as a new unit on 15 October 1953. The squadron was assigned to the Tennessee ANG 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Berry Field, Nashville, for administration, the 184th TRS was initially equipped with World War II-era RB-26C Invader night photo-reconnaissance aircraft. The black-painted RB-26s were originally medium bombers that were modified for reconnaissance in the late 1940s. Most of the aircraft received were Korean War veterans, were unarmed and carried cameras, in 1956, the B-26 was reaching the end of its operational USAF service, and the squadron was re-equipped with RF-80A Shooting Star daylight reconnaissance aircraft that were also nearly obsolescent. In January 1957, the 184th retired its worn-out RF-80s and received new RF-84F Thunderstreak reconnaissance aircraft, on 22 August 1962, the 184th was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 184th TRS becoming the flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 188th Headquarters, 188th Material Squadron, 188th Combat Support Squadron, in 1970 with the winding-down of the Vietnam War, the 184th began receiving McDonnell RF-101C Voodoos, replacing the RF-84Fs the unit had been flying for over a decade. Following their withdrawal from the Vietnam War, numerous USAF F-100D Super Sabres were turned over to the Air National Guard, Tactical Air Command realigned the 151st into a Tactical Fighter Group in 1972, and equipping the unit with Vietnam Veteran F-100D and twin-seat F-100F Trainers. In 1979, the Super Sabre was being retired and the 184th TFS began receiving F-4C Phantom IIs to be used in an air defense role, in 1988, as part of the retirement of the Phantom II, the squadron began receiving Block 15 F-16A Fighting Falcons. The first F-16 delivery to the squadron was on 1 July 1988, on 15 March 1992 the 184th dropped the Tactical name from the squadron as the parent 184th converted to the USAF Objective organization. In early 2001 the 184th FS began to retire its F-16A/B block 15s to AMARC in exchange for F-16C block 32s, because the squadron flew the rarely seen block 32, the squadron became a source for spare F-16s for the USAF Thunderbirds flight demonstration team. In the end the 184th FS never had to give up any of their aircraft as the Thunderbirds took needed aircraft from home based Nellis 57th Fighter Wing, deployed to Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch. In 2005, the 188th deployed nearly 300 Airmen and multiple F-16C Fighting Falcons to Balad Air Base, Iraq, BRAC2005 initially decided to inactivate the 188th Fighter Wing and close Fort Smith ANGB. With a great deal of effort by Arkansas leaders caused the BRAC panel to change its decision on the 184th FS, the squadron would still lose its F-16s but in their place would get a total of eighteen A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft. One of the factors was Fort Smiths location near Fort Chaffee. On 18 October 2006 the 184th FS began giving up F-16s when two departed for the 194th Fighter Squadron located at Fresno Air National Guard Base, California
7.
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
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The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American-built swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design, the RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version. In 1949, a swept wing version of the F-84 was created with the hope of bringing performance to the level of the F-86. The last production F-84E was fitted with a tail, a new wing with 38.5 degrees of leading edge sweep and 3.5 degrees of anhedral. It flew on 3 June 1950 with Otto P. Haas at the controls, although the airplane was capable of 602 knots, the performance gain over the F-84E was considered minor. Nonetheless, it was ordered into production in July 1950 as the F-84F Thunderstreak, the F-84 designation was retained because the fighter was expected to be a low-cost improvement of the straight-wing Thunderjet with over 55 percent commonality in tooling. Production delays with the F-84F forced the USAF to order a number of straight-wing F-84Gs as an interim measure, although tooling commonality with the Thunderjet was supposed to be 55 percent, in reality only fifteen percent of tools could be reused. To make matters worse, the F-84F utilized press-forged wing spars, at the time, only three presses in the United States could manufacture these, and priority was given to the Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber over the F-84. The YJ65-W-1 engine was considered obsolete and the improved J65-W-3 did not become available until 1954, when the first production F-84F finally flew on 22 November 1952, it differed from the service test aircraft. It had a different canopy which opened up and back instead of sliding to the rear, the aircraft was considered not ready for operational deployment due to control and stability problems. The first 275 aircraft, equipped with conventional stabilizer-elevator tailplanes, suffered from accelerated stall pitch-up, beginning with Block 25, the problem was ameliorated by the introduction of a hydraulically powered one-piece stabilator. A number of aircraft were retrofitted with spoilers for improved high-speed control. As a result, the F-84F was not declared operational until 12 May 1954, the second YF-84F prototype was completed with wing-root air intakes. These were not adopted for the due to loss of thrust. However, this arrangement permitted placement of cameras in the nose, the first YRF-84F was completed in February 1952. The aircraft retained an armament of four guns and could carry up to fifteen cameras. Being largely identical to the F-84F, the Thunderflash suffered from the production delays and engine problems. The aircraft was retired from duty in 1957, only to be reactivated in 1961
8.
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
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It first entered service in 1960 with the U. S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was adopted by the U. S. Marine Corps and the U. S. Air Force. The Phantom is a fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons on nine hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was designed without an internal cannon, later models incorporated an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for performance, including an absolute speed record. The Phantom has the distinction of being the last U. S. fighter flown to attain ace status in the 20th century. The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the U. S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. It was also the aircraft used by both U. S. flight demonstration teams, the USAF Thunderbirds and the US Navy Blue Angels. The F-4 was also operated by the forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several Arab–Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its fleet of Phantoms in the Iran–Iraq War. Phantoms remain in front line service with five countries, Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft. The F-4 is currently used by Greece, Iran, Japan, South Korea and it has been recently used in combat against the Islamic State. In 1952, McDonnells Chief of Aerodynamics, Dave Lewis, was appointed by CEO Jim McDonnell to be the preliminary design manager. With no new aircraft competitions on the horizon, internal studies concluded the Navy had the greatest need for a new and different aircraft type, in 1953, McDonnell Aircraft began work on revising its F3H Demon naval fighter, seeking expanded capabilities and better performance. The company developed several projects including a variant powered by a Wright J67 engine, the J79-powered version promised a top speed of Mach 1.97. On 19 September 1953, McDonnell approached the United States Navy with a proposal for the Super Demon, the Navy was sufficiently interested to order a full-scale mock-up of the F3H-G/H, but felt that the upcoming Grumman XF9F-9 and Vought XF8U-1 already satisfied the need for a supersonic fighter. On 26 May 1955, four Navy officers arrived at the McDonnell offices and, within an hour, because the Navy already had the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk for ground attack and F-8 Crusader for dogfighting, the project now had to fulfill the need for an all-weather fleet defense interceptor
9.
North American F-100 Super Sabre
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The North American F-100 Super Sabre was an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of speed in level flight. The F-100 was designed by North American Aviation as a higher performance follow-on to the F-86 Sabre air superiority fighter, adapted as a fighter bomber, the F-100 was supplanted by the Mach two class F-105 Thunderchief for strike missions over North Vietnam. The F-100 flew extensively over South Vietnam as the air forces primary close air support jet until being replaced by the more efficient subsonic LTV A-7 Corsair II, the F-100 also served in other NATO air forces and with other U. S. allies. In its later life, it was referred to as the Hun. In January 1951, North American Aviation delivered an unsolicited proposal for a day fighter to the United States Air Force. Named Sabre 45 because of its 45° wing sweep, it represented an evolution of the F-86 Sabre, the mockup was inspected on 7 July 1951, and after over a hundred modifications, the new aircraft was accepted as the F-100 on 30 November 1951. Extensive use of titanium throughout the aircraft was notable, on 3 January 1952, the USAF ordered two prototypes followed by 23 F-100As in February and an additional 250 F-100As in August. The YF-100A first flew on 25 May 1953, seven ahead of schedule. It reached Mach 1.04 in spite of being fitted with a de-rated XJ57-P-7 engine, the second prototype flew on 14 October 1953, followed by the first production F-100A on 9 October 1953. These findings were confirmed during Project Hot Rod operational suitability tests. Particularly troubling was the yaw instability in certain regimes of flight which produced inertia coupling, the aircraft could develop a sudden yaw and roll which would happen too fast for the pilot to correct and would quickly over-stress the aircraft structure to disintegration. It was under conditions that North Americans chief test pilot. Another control problem stemmed from handling characteristics of the wing at high angles of attack. As the aircraft approached stall speeds, loss of lift on the tips of the caused an violent pitch-up. This particular phenomenon became known as the Sabre dance, nevertheless, delays in the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak program pushed the Tactical Air Command to order the raw F-100A into service. Tactical Air Command also requested that future F-100s be fighter-bombers, with the capability of delivering nuclear bombs, the North American F-107 was a follow-on Mach 2 development of the F-100 with the air intake moved above and behind the cockpit. It was not produced in quantity in favor of the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, the F-100A officially entered USAF service on 27 September 1954, with the 479th Fighter Wing at George AFB, California
10.
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
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The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft, over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U. S. Air Force, in 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. The F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons, the F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2015, it is the second most common operational military aircraft in the world. Experiences in the Vietnam War revealed the need for air superiority fighters, boyds work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with the minimum possible energy loss, and which also incorporated an increased thrust-to-weight ratio. Air Force F-X proponents remained hostile to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the F-15 program, however, the Air Forces leadership understood that its budget would not allow it to purchase enough F-15 aircraft to satisfy all of its missions. The Advanced Day Fighter concept, renamed F-XX, gained political support under the reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard. As a result, in May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established, with Boyd a key member and this was the region where USAF studies predicted most future air combat would occur. The anticipated average flyaway cost of a version was $3 million. This production plan, though, was only notional as the USAF had no plans to procure the winner. Five companies responded and in 1972, the Air Staff selected General Dynamics Model 401 and Northrops P-600 for the prototype development. GD and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $37.9 million and $39.8 million to produce the YF-16 and YF-17, respectively, with first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the Fighter Mafia, the high/low mix would allow the USAF to be able to afford sufficient fighters for its overall fighter force structure requirements. The mix gained broad acceptance by the time of the flyoff, defining the relationship of the LWF. The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. Widmer. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973, and its 90-minute maiden flight was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California and its actual first flight occurred accidentally during a high-speed taxi test on 20 January 1974. The test pilot, Phil Oestricher, decided to lift off to avoid a potential crash, the slight damage was quickly repaired and the official first flight occurred on time
11.
United States Air Force Thunderbirds
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The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force. The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, the Thunderbirds Squadron tours the United States and much of the world, performing aerobatic formation and solo flying in specially marked aircraft. The squadrons name is taken from the creature that appears in the mythologies of several indigenous North American cultures. On 1 March 2013, the USAF announced that due to cuts, aerial demonstration team performances would cease indefinitely. On 6 December 2013 the Thunderbirds announced their 2014 schedule and the resumption of their appearances, the Thunderbirds Squadron is a named USAF squadron, meaning it does not carry a numerical designation. It is also one of the oldest squadrons in the Air Force, its origins dating to the organization of the 30th Aero Squadron, formed at Kelly Field, officers serve a two-year assignment with the squadron, while enlisted personnel serve three to four years. As the squadron performs no more than 88 air demonstrations each year, replacements must be trained for half of the team each year. In addition to their air demonstration responsibilities, the Thunderbirds are part of the USAF combat force and if required, since 15 February 1974 the Thunderbirds have been a component of the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB. Since 1953, they have flown in front of more than 300 million people, the Thunderbirds perform aerial demonstrations in the F-16C Fighting Falcon, and they also fly two F-16D twin-seat trainers. The F-16 has been the aircraft for the Thunderbirds since the 1983 season. In January 1982,4 members of the squadron were killed in what known as the Diamond Crash of T-38 Talon aircraft which the squadron had flown since 1974. The F-16, however, had considered for transition prior to the accident. Beginning in June 1982, the F-16 Thunderbirds were led by Major Jim Latham, the team continues to fly the F-16, having switched from the F-16A to the F-16C in 1992. Only a few minor modifications differentiate a Thunderbird from an operational F-16C, all of the modification work is performed at the maintenance depot at Hill AFB near Ogden, Utah. They also operated the two-seat F-16B during this time for training new pilots and for VIP flights, Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon The block 32H/J aircraft currently assigned to the Thunderbirds were built in 1986 and 1987, and operated by the Thunderbirds from 1992 to 2008. At their retirement, they were some of the oldest operational F-16s in the Air Force, Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon In the 2009 show season the Thunderbirds transitioned to an updated version of the F-16 fighter. The Block 52s have an upgraded avionics package that brings the Thunderbird fleet into alignment with the rest of the worldwide F-16 fleet, additionally, the more powerful Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine adds an additional 3,600 lbf of thrust. This in turn increases the maximum gross weight for ground handling, taxi, takeoff
12.
Balad Air Base
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Balad Air Base is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad in the Sunni Triangle 40 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq. The base was handed back to the Iraqi Air Force during December 2011 returning to be called Balad Air Base, during the Iraq War it was the second largest U. S. Base in Iraq and today is home to the Iraqi Air Forces General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons, Balad was formerly known as al-Bakr AB, named in honor of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, the president of Iraq from 1968 to 1979. It was considered by many in the Iraqi military to be the most important airfield of the Iraqi Air Force, during most of the 1980s, it operated with at least a brigade level force, with two squadrons of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighters. Al-Bakr AB was especially known for the large number of hardened aircraft shelters built by the Yugoslavs during the Iran–Iraq War in the mid-1980s. It had four hardened areas—one each on either end of the main runways—with approximately 30 individual aircraft shelters, the base was captured during April 2003 as part of the Iraq War The Armys 310th Sustainment Command and the Air Forces 332d Air Expeditionary Wing were headquartered at JBB. It was decided that the facility share one name, even though for reasons and for its many occupants. Until mid-2008 the US Army had been in charge of the base but, Balad was the central logistical hub for forces in Iraq. Camp Anaconda has also been more colloquially-termed Life Support Area Anaconda or the Big Snake and it housed 28,000 military personnel and 8,000 civilian contractors. Carrie Underwood played there in December 2006 and Gary Sinise visited again going out of his way to greet the troops at the Base/Post Exchange, oct 2007 - Dec 2008 602nd Maintenance Co. By mid-2006, this rate had dropped by about 40%, due to these attacks, the soldiers and airmen refer to the base as Mortaritaville, though this name is shared with other bases in Iraq. Joint Base Balad had a burn pit operation as late as the summer of 2008 burning 147 tons of waste per day when the Army Times published a story about it. Respiratory difficulties and headaches were reported, Joint base Balad was also home to the Air Force Theater Hospital, a Level I trauma center which boasts a 98% survival rate for wounded Americans and Iraqis alike. As American forces left Iraq, Joint Base Balad was returned to the Iraqi Air Force in December 2011, the base came under attack by ISIS militants in late June 2014, with the insurgents launching mortar attacks and reportedly surrounding the base on three sides. The base is home to the Iraqi Air Forces General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons
United States
Arkansas
Air National Guard
