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  • McDonnell ADM-20 Quail

    The Quail, originally designated the GAM-72, was an air-launched decoy missile carried by the B-52 strategic bomber. Designed to produce a radar images very similar to that of the B-52 and to fly at approximately the same speed and altitude, the Quail was planned to be used during an actual bombing

  • Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29A

    The MiG-29 was designed in response to a new generation of American fighters, which included the F-15 and F-16. Designed as an air defense fighter, this dual-purpose aircraft also possessed a ground attack capability. The task of producing a "frontal" or tactical fighter for the Frontal Aviation

  • Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S

     The first Soviet production fighter capable of supersonic speeds in level flight, the prototype MiG-19 (NATO code-name "Farmer") made its first flight in September 1953. Entering production in 1955, it became the Soviet Union's primary fighter during the last half of the 1950s. Possibly as many as

  • McDonnell F-101B Voodoo

    Developed from the XF-88 penetration fighter, the F-101 originally was designed as a long-range bomber escort for the Strategic Air Command. However, when high-speed, high-altitude jet bombers like the B-52 entered active service, escort fighters were not needed. Therefore, before production began,

  • McDonnell Douglas F-4G Wild Weasel

    This F-4G, from the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, George Air Force Base, Calif., launched more than 40 missiles during Operation Desert Storm from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28, 1991. F-4G Wild Weasels were modified F-4E fighters with their cannon replaced by AN/APR-47 electronic warfare equipment. Their mission

  • McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II

    In the early 1960s, the USAF recognized the need for more tactical reconnaissance aircraft to reinforce the RF-101s then in service. The USAF chose a modification of the F-4C fighter. The RF-4C development program began in 1962, and the first production aircraft made its initial flight on May 18,

  • Martin RB-57D

    Entering service the same year as the more famous U-2, the RB-57D helped fill the U.S. Air Force's need for a strategic reconnaissance aircraft that could fly high enough to avoid interception. In 1956 Martin delivered the first RB-57D to the 4025th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Light) of the

  • Marquardt Space Sled

    A design for individual space maneuvering in the vicinity of a spacecraft, the space sled lost out to the seat-like maneuvering unit. The mannequin riding the sled is wearing an experimental space suit that was one of a series tested in the mid-1960s. Unlike the space sled, the suit was part of a

  • Missile Alert Facility Model

    This model depicts a Minuteman II alert facility. The complex was surrounded by a double fence with sensitive motion-detecting alarms. Each Launch Control Center (LCC) served 10 Minuteman missiles in individual hardened underground silos, typically spaced about 4 to 14 miles apart. Individual silos

  • Missile Combat Crews

    Minuteman II combat crews included a commander and deputy commander. These officers underwent extensive training and constant drills to be sure they mastered every aspect of controlling nuclear weapons. While on alert, they maintained constant vigilance, managed maintenance logs and activities and