Bringing 31 years of flying dignitaries and rigorous testing for Air Force Materiel Command to a close, the Air Force officially retired the “Speckled Trout” tail #61-2669 on Feb. 10 at Edwards AFB, Calif., where it will be preserved at the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum. The aircraft, a C-135 manufactured in 1962, has been the primary transport for every Air Force Chief of Staff since Gen. David C. Jones, said AFMC Commander Gen. Bruce Carlson. USAF plans to replace a backup aircraft already flying Trout missions with a KC-135R aerial refueling capable aircraft, currently undergoing modification.
F-22s intercepted a Russian air package comprised of Tu-95 Bear missile carriers, Su-35 Flankers, and an A-50 Mainstay AWACS-type aircraft off the coast of Alaska on Oct. 19, NORTHCOM reported. The incident was one of an increasing number of Russian sorties into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone in recent…