Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).
13MAR1984, photo via Gates-Learjet.
13MAR1984, photo via Gates-Learjet.
The aircraft is the military version of the Learjet 35A business jet, it replaced the older T-39 Sabreliner. The C-21A was ‘drafted’ by the U.S. Air Force in 1984.
Photo dated 02AUG1984, photographer and location unknown.
13MAR1984, photo via Gates-Learjet.
The C-21A is a twin turbofan-engine aircraft used for cargo, medical or VIP (Very Important Person) passenger airlift.
VIP interior of a C-21A. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Fernando Serna, 07SEP1984.
Cargo interior. Photo via Gates-Learjet, 13MAR1984.
A C-21A Learjet arrives on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 20SEP1984. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Michael J. Donahue.
What many U.S. taxpayers don’t known is that in November 1984, Gates-Learjet supplied communist China (People’s Republic of China) with a C-21A equipped for geological surveys.
Notice the commie Chinese flag on the tail of this C-21A! Photo via Gates-Learjet, 14NOV1984.
This ‘rollout’ photo is dated 01MAR1985, by Technical Sergeant Rob Marshall.
Operation Desert Storm: 17JAN1991–28FEB1991
Refueling by a Saudi fuel truck during Operation Desert Storm, 23JAN1991. Photographer unknown.
A UN ‘peacekeeping’ officer arrives in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after Desert Storm, 17APR1991. Photo by Sergeant Jeff Wright.
War on Terror: 11SEP2001 (aka 9-11) to present
A C-21A on Scott AFB, Illinois, is adorned with the 9-11 battle cry “Let’s Roll”, 22MAR2002. USAF photo by Airman Justin F. Myers.
C-21A hanger on Scott AFB, Illinois, 17DEC2018. USAF photo by Senior Airman Daniel Garcia.
After 35 years the U.S. Air Force is celebrating it’s use of the executive LearJet (C-21), calling 2019 The Year of the Lear.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Fernando Serna, 07SEP1984.
As part of The Year of the Lear, the USAF has forced taxpayers to upgrade the plane with $38-million of new electronics (partly due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s 2020 mandate)!
USAF photo by Senior Airman Tara Stetler, 25FEB2019.
Video report of continuing C-21 aircrew training:
July 2012:
Photo by AAron B. Hutchins, July 2012.
AIR MOBILITY COMMAND LEARJET on POCATELLO AIRPORT (photos by me)
VEHICLE I-D: NEW KC-46A PEGASUS