The Air Force’s first dedicated combat search and rescue exercise providing realistic task force training concludes today at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. Exercise Angel Thunder was first held in 2006, but only as a base level exercise at Davis-Monthan. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley directed Air Combat Command to develop a command-wide exercise for CSAR resources, which reverted to ACC control last year. ACC like what it saw at Davis-Monthan, so took over sponsorship for this year’s event. Keeping it at the Arizona facility made sense, since Davis-Monthan has the right elements—pararescue airmen and equipment and a unique desert environment, plus an urban training complex called Desert Lightning City. A1C Melissa Copeland reports that Angel Thunder tests the theater spin-up capabilities of participating personnel and examines how Air Force assets are integrated for mission planning and execution.
B-21 Temporary Shelters Could Also Shelter B-2s
March 5, 2021
The Air Force's experimental runway shelter for the new B-21 bomber is large enough to cover it or the B-2, and therefore reveals no information about the dimensions of the new aircraft. Two such shelters will be evaluated, but the maker of the second version hasn't been chosen, yet.