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Air Force retired its first operational KC-135R tanker from service after more than 50 years of flying it, announced officials at Altus AFB, Okla. This KC-135, tail number 61-0312, first flew on Aug. 14, 1962, received new engines in 1985, and accumulated some 22,500 flying hours over the years, states the Feb. 22 release from Altus’ 97th Air Mobility Wing, which trains KC-135 aircrews. The aircraft departed Altus for good on Feb 21, en route to the Air Force’s aircraft boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., according to the release. Aircraft 312 is one of the KC-135s that the Fiscal 2013 defense authorization act allows the Air Force to retire, states the release. (Altus report by A1C Klynne Pearl Serrano)
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other data systems to monitor U.S.…