North Dakota lawmakers and civic leaders descended upon the Pentagon July 25 to urge Air Force officials to enhance the nascent unmanned aerial vehicle mission planned for Grand Forks AFB, N.D. And, they want to get a lock on the service’s next generation aerial refueler. Currently, USAF plans for Grand Forks comprise basing Predator UAVs there in 2009 and Global Hawk UAVs in 2010. The base stands to lose its aerial refueling aircraft under BRAC 2005. Sen. Kent Conrad, Sen. Bryan Dorgan, and Rep. Earl Pomeroy expressed the hope that the Air Force would preserve the base’s tanker infrastructure for new tankers.
The Thunderbirds will kick off their 2021 season on April 17, debuting an overhauled aerial performance routine following a 2020 air show season largely canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team will debut the new routine at the Cocoa Beach Air Show in Florida April…