B-1B aircrews with the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Tex., set three unofficial time-to-climb world records during separate flights April 29-May 1 at the Texas base, which is celebrating 25 years of B-1B operations. Wing officials said these marks eclipsed previous records set by C-17 transports. On May 1, pilots Lt. Col. Michael Starr and Maj. William Alcorn took a B-1 carrying a 5,000-kilogram payload to a height of 3,000 meters within two minutes and 25 seconds. On April 29 and April 30, different aircrews flying B-1s with the same mass of payload reached 9,000 meters in four minutes and 47 seconds and 6,000 meters in three minutes 28 seconds, respectively. Maj. Stephen Gerken and Maj. Paul Jones piloted the aircraft on April 29. Lt. Col. Brian Wallace and Capt. Brian Buschur flew the bomber on April 30. (Dyess report by SrA. Felicia Juenke)
USAF Scoping Out Upgrades to Counter-UAS Weapons
Oct. 19, 2020
The Air Force is in the market for upgrades to its counter-drone technologies, according to an Oct. 16 request for information posted on a federal contracting website. The service is in the early stages of deploying lasers, microwaves, and other weapons more advanced than a shotgun to deal with potentially…