August 04, 1955

Aug. 4, 1955
Company pilot Tony LeVier makes the first official flight of the Lockheed U-2 spyplane at Groom Lake, Nev. An inadvertent hop had been made on July 29.

Related Content

Key Air Force, Space Force Leaders Set to Retire

May 23, 2022
The Department of the Air Force announced the retirements of several key leaders within the Air Force and Space Force on May 23, while also unveiling more than a dozen new assignments for current or future one-star generals.

Biden Signals U.S. Defense of Taiwan—Pentagon Stays Mum

May 23, 2022
President Joe Biden again drew into question America’s “strategic ambiguity” regarding the defense of Taiwan by saying the United States would become involved militarily if China invaded the island. However, Pentagon leaders declined to discuss military plans or strategy when asked to elaborate. At a joint press conference with Japanese…

Air Force C-17 Delivers 78,000 Pounds of Infant Formula

May 23, 2022
An Air Force C-17 flew from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to Indianapolis on May 22, delivering 132 pallets of specialty infant formula to help address the shortages currently affecting parents across the U.S. All told, the aircraft, assigned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, delivered 78,000 pounds of formula, enough for…

B-21 Raider First Flight Now Postponed to 2023

May 20, 2022
The Air Force says the B-21 Raider won't make its first flight until 2023; about a six-month delay from the last official estimates. No reason was given for the delay. While other programs have recently chalked up schedule slips to supply chain and labor shortages, the Air Force has said…

Leaked Air Force Memo: Bigger Mustaches Are Coming

May 20, 2022
The Air Force mustache you a question—Are you ready for bigger mustaches? That’s according to a draft of a new memo posted to social media this week, revealing that the Air Force is on the verge of allowing men to grow their mustaches up to a quarter of an inch…

Air National Guard Leaders: Time is Running Short for a Space Guard

May 20, 2022
If Congress doesn’t act to establish a Space National Guard soon, leaders in Air National Guard units with space missions will need to start having some difficult conversations with their Airmen. That’s the warning from multiple commanders during a virtual event hosted by the National Guard Association of the United…

Ukraine War Shows Congress that Arming Taiwan Now Can Deter China

May 20, 2022
Lawmakers studying the lessons learned from the Ukraine war believe that speeding delivery of F-16s and Stingers among other kit to Taiwan, and forming a clear defensive coalition in the Pacific, could deter China from a mid-decade invasion. “I hope we've learned our lesson from Ukraine that pre-invasion arms, military…