Airmen of the 30th Space Wing and their industry partners on Thursday successfully launched a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket into space from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. This was the first-ever West Coast launch of the Delta IV Heavy. The 235-foot-tall launch vehicle, the largest ever fired from the US West Coast, carried a classified US intelligence satellite aloft. “I’m very proud to be part of the team who worked so hard to make this mission a success,” said Col. Keith Balts, 30th SW vice commander and launch decision authority. The rocket produced two million pounds of thrust. (Vandenberg release) (See also Vandenberg Preps for Delta IV Heavy Launch)
F-15s, F-16s, C-130s Deploy for Exercise in Poland
April 19, 2021
USAF F-15s, F-16s, and C-130s are training in Poland in an agile combat employment exercise that comes as Russia has executed a massive buildup on the border with neighboring Ukraine, though U.S. officials say the exercise was long-planned. F-15Es from the 492nd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England; F-16s from…