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  • Battle at Takur Ghar: Roberts Ridge

      Click here to view the web page dedicated to Chapman as a Medal of Honor recipient.  In March 2002, in conjunction with Operation Anaconda, small reconnaissance teams established observation posts in strategic locations in Afghanistan and directed U.S. air power against enemy targets.  During this

  • Combating the Insurgency: Air Force Combat Controllers at Najaf, Iraq

     Combating the Insurgency: Air Force Combat Controllers at Najaf, Iraq            In late January 2007, Iraqi police in Najaf went to arrest what they thought were only 30 members of the fanatical “Soldiers of Heaven” sect.  Instead they were ambushed by about 800 heavily-entrenched

  • Cold War in Space: Top Secret Reconnaissance Satellites Revealed

    During the Cold War, the U.S. relied on photo reconnaissance satellites to track adversaries' weapons development, especially in the Soviet Union and China. From the early 1960s to mid-1980s, photography from space was often the only way to get critical data about nuclear threats.The National

  • Berlin Airlift Dog Parachute

    This parachute was specially made for "Vittles," a dog that flew 131 missions with his owner, 1Lt. Russ Steber, during the Berlin Airlift. Gen. Curtis LeMay named the dog and ordered the parachute made for him. Vittles, a boxer, accumulated around 2,000 flying hours, but never had to use the

  • Northrop SM-62 Snark

    The Snark, a pilotless nuclear missile, represented an important step in weapons technology during the Cold War. The SM-62 (Strategic Missile) program lasted from 1945-1961, and it gave the U.S. Air Force valuable experience in developing long-range strategic nuclear missile systems. The SM-62 was a

  • Grumman HU-16B Albatross

    Grumman designed the versatile Albatross to meet a U.S. Navy requirement for an amphibious utility aircraft which could also operate from snow and ice with skis. During the Korean War, Albatrosses rescued almost 1,000 United Nations personnel from coastal waters and rivers, often behind enemy lines.

  • Lockheed SR-71A

    The SR-71, unofficially known as the "Blackbird," is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th)

  • Panavia Tornado GR1

    During the 1991 Gulf War, military planners made the elimination of Iraq's air defenses a top priority. At the start of Operation Desert Storm (called Operation Granby by the British), Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR1 aircraft attacked Iraqi air bases at low-level with Hunting JP233 anti-runway

  • Ryan BQM-34 Firebee

    The Firebee, originally designated the Q-2, was a high-speed target drone for both surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. It was used primarily for the testing of newly-developed missiles and for the training of fighter-interceptor pilots whose aircraft were armed with missiles.Capable of being

  • Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV

    U.S. Air Force special operations forces used the Sikorsky MH-53M to covertly enter enemy territory. Capable of operating at day or night or in bad weather, these helicopters conducted long-range, low-level missions to insert, extract, and resupply special operations forces. The MH-53 helicopters