Videos

Technology

NATO Vehicle I-D: Tarcza Polski PT-91

Video

Just a few years before the official end to the unofficial Cold War, Poland’s military decided to modify its license built T-72M1s.  The idea was to incorporate as many locally produced upgrades as possible.  So many items were changed that the PT-91 Twardy (tough, strong) is almost a  totally different tank from the T-72; engine, transmission, auto-loader, targeting system, etc.

U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Andres Chandler, 13JUN2020.

Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, June 2020.

USA photo by Sergeant Andres Chandler, 13JUN2020.

USA photo by Sergeant Andres Chandler, 13JUN2020.

NATO video of PT-91 live-fire during wargame in Latvia, April 2020:

Canadian Forces photo.

Polish Hussars PT-91 during Assurance wargame in Latvia, 26JUL2018.

Michigan Army National Guard photo by Captain Tyler Piper, 06JUN2018.

Michigan Army National Guard photo by Specialist Alan Prince , 06JUN2018.

Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, June 2018.

Michigan Army National Guard photo by Specialist Robert Douglas, 15JUN2018.

USA photo by Specialist Hubert D. Delany the Third, 06JUN2018.

USA photo by Specialist Hubert D. Delany the Third, 06JUN2018.

Polish PT-91 in Latvia, at Camp Ādaži, 11MAR2018. Canadian Forces photo by Corporal Jean-Roch Chabot.

Canadian Forces photo by Corporal Jean-Roch Chabot.

In Latvia, February 2018, NATO wargame Reassurance.  A PT-91 arrives for ‘decontamination’.

Canadian Forces photo by Corporal Jean-Roch Chabot.

A Slovenian soldier checks for ‘contamination’ of PT-91’s tracks/road wheels.

Canadian Forces photo by Corporal Jean-Roch Chabot.

Polish PT-91 about to get ‘decontaminated’ during CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear) training in Latvia.  Back in the Cold War, and through the 1990s, we called it NBC (nuclear Biological Chemical) training.

Camp Ādaži, Latvia. Canadian Forces photo by Master Corporal Gerald Cormier, 02OCT2017.

Canadian Forces video by Master Corporal Brandon O’Connell, Polish PT-91 during NATO wargame in Latvia, 2017:

Camp Ādaži, Latvia. Canadian Forces photo by Master Corporal Gerald Cormier, 02OCT2017.

U.S. Army photo by Charles Rosemond, 15JUN2017.

Adazi, Latvia, during NATO Saber Strike wargame, June 2017.

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Brandon Best, 04JUN2017.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by First Lieutenant Kristine Racicot.

Since the 1990s, many new versions of the PT-91 battle-tank have come out, with different designations and names. There’s even recovery vehicles, engineer vehicles, bridgelayers and self propelled artillery based on the PT-91. Besides Poland, Georgia, India and Malaysia use some type of PT-91 variant.

Soviet era Armor in use by NATO:  POLAND

NATO:   POLAND SUKHOI 22

Technology

TaCaMO: E-6B Mercury

Video

“This plane was built for the Cold War. It serves as the link between the national decision makers and the nuclear triad.”-Chief Petty Officer Jeffrey Penington, Task Force 124, July 2007

U.S. Air Force photo by Greg L. Davis, 23AUG2019.

U.S. Navy E-6B from Tinker Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma, flies over Colorado, 23AUG2019.

U.S. Air Force photo by Greg L. Davis, 23AUG2019.

The E-6B has a greatly strengthened airframe/wings/landing gear compared to its E-6A incarnation, due to greater weight caused by lots of electronic gear and extra fuel capacity.  By 2003, the entire E-6A fleet was converted to B standard.

U.S. Air Force photo by Greg L. Davis, 23AUG2019.

E-6B Mercury refuels from a KC-135.  The KC-135 and E-6B are not the same type of aircraft.  The E-6B is based on the Boeing 707, the KC-135 is not.  While the KC-135 is based on the same prototype-predecessor it was developed independently from the 707, and airframe parts are not interchangeable.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob Skovo.

E-6B Mercury, assigned to Strategic Communications Wing 1 at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, taxis on the flightline of Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 15JUL2019.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob Skovo.

Notice what looks like a drogue type refueling system at the tail-end of the plane, it is reportedly a type of VLF antenna that’s five miles (8km) long when fully reeled out!

U.S. Air Force photo by Josh Plueger, 03OCT2017.

Panel removal from E-6B Mercury engine nacelle, 03OCT2017, Offutt AFB.  The U.S. Navy (USN) has its own maintenance unit on Offutt AFB, for the purpose of maintaining aircraft used in Airborne Command Post (AbnCP, aka Looking Glass), and Take Charge and Move Out (TaCaMO) missions.

U.S. Air Force photo by Josh Plueger, 02OCT2017.

A worn out E-6B Mercury training aircraft on Offutt AFB, under USN guard, while waiting for turn-around inspection, 02OCT2017.

USAF photo by Josh Plueger.

USN E-6B Mercury takes flight from the USAF base of Offutt, Nebraska, 28AUG2015.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob Skovo.

In 2007, E-6Bs with Task Force 124 were also serving as airborne radio relay stations over Iraq: “Our role here is basically as a convoy relay. When the convoys are moving and they can’t get a hold of someone to report something or even perform a radio check, they can contact us. Because we’re so high in the air we have a greater line of sight and therefore can communicate with all convoys and reporting authorities.”-Lieutenant Junior Grade Amy Simek, TF-124 battle staff mission commander

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob Skovo.

USN photo, November 1984.

Take Charge and Move Out (TaCaMO) operations began in early 1960s, using EC-130s, for the purpose of directing nuclear ballistic missile launches from submarines.

E-6A, Boeing photo, June 1987.

E-6As took over from EC-130s starting at the end of 1989.  The USN E-6B is capable of launching U.S. land based intercontinental ballistic missiles, and was actually developed to replace the USAF’s EC-135 Airborne Command Post (AbnCP, aka Looking Glass) aircraft. 

 E-6Bs launched into their new job, replacing EC-135s, in Autumn 1998. 

Official video explainer, E-6B crew controls missile launch from Vandenberg AFB, April 2017:

E-6B cockpit simulator.

EC-135E: 10329 COMES BACK TO LIFE, AGAIN!

KC-135: The Last ISO for the 916TH

BATS & BEARS, OH MY!

Technology

Vehicle I-D: C-54 Skymaster, an airborne Willy Wonka?

Video

The C-54 was the militarized version of the DC-4 airliner, developed during the Second World War.

Photo via Tinker Air Force Base History Office.

C-54s at the Douglas factory in Oklahoma, sometime in the 1940s.

Notice, three and four bladed propellers. Photo via Tinker Air Force Base History Office.

U.S. Air Force photo by Melanie Rodgers Cox.

C-54E flying museum on Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 08JUN2012.

USAF photo by Melanie Rodgers Cox, 08JUN2012.

USAF photo by Melanie Rodgers Cox, 08JUN2012.

USAF photo by Melanie Rodgers Cox, 08JUN2012.

USAF photo by Melanie Rodgers Cox, 08JUN2012.

C-54 Flight Chief Timothy Chopp, poses with children from a local school.  The flying museum reminds people of one of the first incidents of the undeclared Cold War; The Berlin Airlift.  It was probably the first time military air transports were used in a massive humanitarian relief effort.

Video, C-54 over air show in Michigan, 2014:

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Chad Thompson, 09SEP2016.

Spirit of Freedom sits on the tarmac at the Great Falls International Airport, Montana, 09SEP2016.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Chad Thompson, 09SEP2016.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Chad Thompson, 09SEP2016.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Joe McFadden, 22NOV2016.

The man responsible for the Berlin Airlift’s unofficial ‘Candy Bomber’ operation (which became part of the larger official Operation Vittles food supply mission); retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Gail Halvorsen at the Berlin Airlift Memorial outside Frankfurt International Airport, Germany, 22NOV2016.  It started innocently enough, simply handing out candy to German children watching USAF aircraft landing on the Western side (split in half due to political divisions between the victors of the Second World War) of the war ravaged city of Berlin.  So many children started showing up for sugar food that Halvorsen started tossing the candy out his C-54 before he landed.  Soon, fellow transport pilots began following his lead, and candy donation drives were held in the U.S. to help bomb the children of the West Berlin area with candy.

Official USAF video report:

Ohio Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Hope Geiger.

Douglas C-54 Skymaster ‘Spirit of Freedom’ museum plane during the Toledo Air Show in Swanton, Ohio, 14JUL2019.

In 2020, the C-54E Spirit of Freedom (44-9144) was hit by a tornado: Spirit of Freedom suffers storm-related damage in South Carolina.

The C-54E Spirit of Freedom was replaced by a rebuilt C-54D (43-17228), which is currently operated by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation.

Vehicle I-D: (also used in the Berlin Airlift) C-47 DAKOTA/SKYTRAIN, DOUGLAS COMMERCIAL-3, R4D GOONIES!

Hurricane Harvey, 2017: WW2 C-47 used to deliver food aid to Texans

Technology

Vehicle I-D: The Spartan that refuses to die!

Video

U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Carolyn Herrick.

Two short lived C-27J Spartans sit mummified on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), Arizona, 02JUN2016.  Spartans were being interned at Davis-Monthan in 2013.

Video by Airman First Class Kelly Greenwell, Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMaRG) personnel mummifying an Ohio Air National Guard (ANG) C-27J with ‘spraylat’, 24OCT2013:

The Lockheed Martin-Leonardo Alenia Aermacchi (aka Leonardo Company) C-27J Spartan is a modernized version of the Aeritalia-Alenia Aeronautica G.222 (aka C-27A).  The ‘J’ denotes that it uses the same engines and similar avionics as the C-130J Super Hercules.  The concept for the C-27J was apparently suggested in 1997, the first flight of a C-27J was in September 1999.  In June 2007, the U.S. Army (USA) and U.S. Air Force (USAF) decided to try the C-27J for their ‘Joint Cargo Aircraft’ operations.   By 2009, the USA/Army National Guard Bureau decided they didn’t like the C-27J and gave their Spartans to the USAF/Air National Guard Bureau.  The USA said their Chinook, and other utility helicopters, were much more cost effective at tactical transport, than the C-27J.

Ohio Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Jeffery Allen.

Ohio ANG C-27J loads-up in Qalat, Afghanistan, 15AUG2011.

By 2012, the USAF decided they didn’t like their Spartans either, because of operational costs.  The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) then decided to sell the C-27J to other countries, but Leonardo Company stated it would not provide maintenance support for those second-hand DoD aircraft because it conflicted with its own efforts to sell new-build C-27Js to new customers.  In 2013, former USA/USAF C-27Js were being divided between U.S. Special Operations Command (AC-27J), U.S. Coast Guard (HC-27J), U.S. Forest Service (although the National Defense Acts of 2012 & 2013 approved the transfer of C-27Js to the USFS, apparently the USCG decided to swap some of its C-130s for the C-27Js meant for the USFS), and the ‘boneyard’ at Davis-Monthan AFB.  The decision to transfer or mothball C-27Js came the same year the DoD’s scandalously failed efforts to provide Afghanistan with former Italian air force (Aeronautica Militare) C-27As (G.222) were made public.  In 2014, the USAF’s official Air Force Magazine blamed the whole Spartan affair on Congress: “The case serves, however, as an object lesson in the wasteful effects of sequestration and, broadly, America’s inability to create a long-term defense spending plan.”

Despite the publicity over the mishandling of the U.S. Spartan program, and mothballing of ANG aircraft, the C-27J is very much alive, in use with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOC).

U.S. Army video report about Operation Toy Drop, December 2015:

U.S. Army photo by Sergeant First Class Sean A. Foley.

Paratroopers jump from a perfectly good USSOC Spartan, over Fort Bragg in North Carolina, 26OCT2015.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Third Class Taylor Bacon.

USCG HC-27J delivering pandemic vaccines to San Diego, California, 09MAR2021.

The C-27J is also being used by at least a dozen countries.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Christopher Quail.

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-27J leaves tiny Tinian, U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, during Cope North wargame, 19FEB2014.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Dana J. Butler.

Lietuvos Karinės oro pajėgos (Lithuanian Air Force) C-27J on Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania, 01APR2014. 

USAF photo by Senior Airman Damon Kasberg.

Bulgarian Air Force (Voennovazdushni sili, Военновъздушни сили)   C-27J Spartan during NATO’s Steadfast Javelin-2 wargame, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, 02SEP2014.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Joe W. McFadden.

Hellenic (Greek, Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía) War Aviation Spartan takes off from Souda Bay, Greece, 29JAN2015.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Nicole Sikorski.

Bulgar C-27J Spartan over Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 16JUL2015.

Ministerstvo obrany Slovenskej republiky video from October 2017:

Photo via Leonardo Company.

C-27J of the Fuerza Aérea del Perú.

RAAF video of dirt strip landing, May 2018:

USA photo by Sergeant First Class John Etheridge.

RAAF C-27J during Talisman Saber wargame, 17JUL2019.

USA photo by Private First Class Andrew Webbbuffington.

U.S. paratroopers jumping from a perfectly good Italian Aeronautica Militare C-27J, 25JUL2019.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Malcolm Mayfield.

Forțele Aeriene Române (Romanian Air Force) Spartan during Carpathian Summer wargame, 31JUL2019.

Mexican Army & Air forces (ejército y FAM) video of C-27J (as well as C-295) loading-up with aid for flooded cities in the state of Tabasco, November 2020:

November 2020 promotional video by Leonardo Company:

October 2020: HOW TO MUMMIFY YOUR KC-10, OR, LAST FLIGHT OF 86-0036

Vehicle I-D: HOW THE HIND RETURNED TO AFGHANISTAN, AND WHY IT WON’T DIE

Technology

Vehicle I-D: Canuck’s Colorful Cormorant

Video

Photo by Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Region.

In the land of the Canucks, a colorful Cormorant with rotary wings has refused to fly south for the Winter, and was recently seen flying the skies over Newfoundland and Labrador.

Photo by Can-NorAD-R.

Photo by Can-NorAD-R.

The Canuck’s have ‘kawai’ Unimogs.

The CH-149 Cormorant is Canada’s nomenclature for the  AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly EH101), it is the Search and Rescue (SaR) version of Canada’s CH-148.  In the United Kingdom the AW101 is known as the Merlin.  Canada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, which is lead by Queen Elizabeth the Second of United Kingdom, but apparently tried to show some independence by calling its AW101 ‘CH-149 Cormorant’.

Photo by Can-NorAD-R.

The photos you see were taken on Canadian Force Base (CFB) Goose Bay, 18MAR2021, prepping for NorAD’s (North American Aerospace Defense Command) wargame called Amalgam Dart.

Don’t you know smoking is bad for you?

Photo by Can-NorAD-R.

On way to Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert, first stop Iqaluit.

Photo by Can-NorAD-R.

A stop-over in Iqaluit (Place of many Fish), while enroute to CFS Alert.

Photo by Can-NorAD-R.

Back on way to CFS Alert.

Canadian Forces photo by Master Corporal Gary Clavé.

Thule Air Base, Greenland, 20MAR2021.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer First Class Levi Read.

Patient transfer between U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Air Force, Neah Bay, Washington, 28APR2019.

USCG photo.

Rescue training in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington, 03OCT2018.

June 2017: Don’t ‘crosstell’ but a Red Coat Canadian is in charge of U.S. air defense (or should I spell it defence?)!

May 2017: MARYLAND MILITIA SPENDS MEMORIAL WEEKEND RESCUING PILOTS IN CANADA!

Canadian Forces video by Corporal Mathieu Gaudreault, CH-149 Exercise Vigilant Shield, October 2015:

U.S. Air Force photo.

U.S. Air Force pararescue personnel train with Royal Canadian Cormorant on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 24AUG2015.

Canadian Forces video by Master Corporal Chelsey Hutson, CH-149 Operation Nunalivut, April 2015:

 

USCG photo by Petty Officer Third Class Nate Littlejohn.

Taking part in U.S. Coast Guard Advanced Helicopter Rescue School training near Cape Disappointment, Washington, 26JAN2012.

USCG photo by Petty Officer Third Class James Rhodes.

Rescue training with U.S. Coast Guard off Boston, Massachusetts,  11SEP2009.

Technology

Final Flight: OH-58D Kiowa Warriors

Video

Video by Sergeant Chloe Barns, C Troop, 1st Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division’s OH-58D final flight, Afghanistan, 22NOV2014:

Video report of last flight of OH-58D over Hawaii, January 2015:

By the end of November 2015, the Tennessee Army National Guard became the last state militia to operate the OH-58D, sending 30 Kiowa Warriors to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB) in Arizona: “We don’t have to do anything when we drop them off. It’s their helicopter. They shake our hand, say thank you, and we walk away from it. It’s a different feeling, kind of painful, knowing we have flown all of these aircraft in different countries and now see them being torn down for storage. It hurts a little bit.”-Chief Warrant Officer 3 Peter Neveu

U.S. Army photo by Captain Joe Bush. Over Fort Polk, Louisiana, 2015.

2016 was a bad year for the U.S. Army’s OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, it was retired en masse.  Kiowa Warriors based across the United States were ordered decommissioned by December 2016.

By January 2016, already more than 140 Kiowas had been interned at Davis-Monthan AFB.

The ‘D’ version of the Kiowa was being replaced with a recon version of the AH-64 Apache: “Reconnaissance is a mission, not an airframe. Making the transition with the Kiowa pilots will cross-pollinate the recon mindset to Apache.”-Major Adam Camarano, November 2015

Department of Defense photo by Kenneth Kassens.

In April 2016, the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division made a dramatic en masse last flight over Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Christopher Freeman.

32 OH-58D Kiowa Warriors took part in the massive final flight.

USA photo by Sergeant Daniel Schroeder.

Video by Staff Sergeant David Birchfield, of what is claimed to be a Guinness world record for the largest formation of helicopters:

DoD photo by Kenneth Kassens.

Video, by Staff Sergeant David Birchfield, of what a Guinness world record for the largest formation of helicopters sounds like from the ground:

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Christopher Freeman.

This is what happens when a helicopter passes through the ceremonial water salute by air base fire trucks.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Christopher Freeman.

A true rotor wash.

USA photo by Sergeant Neil A. Stanfield.

USA photo by Captain Adan Cazarez.

Two autographed final flight T-shirts were given to staff a Fork Polk’s elementary school, Kimberly Hampton Primary School.

USA photo by Sergeant Jesse Smith. Rodriguez Live Fire Range in Korea (South), June 2015.

2017 was the year OH-58Ds were retired from U.S. Army operations in Republic of Korea (South), when the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry(cav-all-ry) Regiment,  82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division completed its rotation and was ‘re-deployed’ elsewhere.

July 2020: FINAL FLIGHT OF THE FORT POLK OH-58C KIOWAS

Final Flight: ANOTHER B-1B ‘BONE’ SENT TO THE BONEYARD! IS THE END NEAR?

Technology

Vehicle I-D: CH-53K King Stallion update

Video

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Yuritzy Gomez.

Video by Lance Corporal Elias E. Pimentel the Third, CH-53K crew shows off for some Commandant of the Marine Corps guy during his visit to Camp Davis, North Carolina, 17MAR2021:

USMC photo by Sergeant Kathryn Adams.

Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David H. Berger, flies a CH-53K simulator aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina, 17MAR2021, prior to taking a ride in the real thing over Marine Corps Outlying Field (MCOF) Camp Davis.

USMC photo by Sergeant Kathryn Adams.

USMC photo by Sergeant Kathryn Adams.

The 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David H. Berger, and 19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Troy E. Black, ride in a CH-53K with VMX-1 Commanding Officer Col Byron D. Sullivan, flying over MCAS New River-MCOF Camp Davis, 17MAR2021.

USMC photo by Corporal Damaris Arias.

Heavy lift testing at MCOF Camp Davis, 03FEB2021.  In the photo the King Stallion is lifting a 4-thousand pound (1814 Kg) block of concrete.

USMC photo by Staff Sergeant Christopher O’Quin.

On 15JAN2021, King Stallion made its first flight from MCAS New River after having been solely maintained and brought to readiness by U.S. Marine personnel.

Video by Lance Corporal Chelsi Woodman, 100% USMC personnel CH-53K flight prep and hover over MCAS New River, 15JAN2021:

U.S. Navy photo.

KC-130J refuels the CH-53K during ‘refueling wake testing’, 06APR2020.

Silent U.S. Navy video of refueling tests over the Chesapeake Bay, 06APR2020:

USN photo.

CH-53K ‘justification’ video from 2019:

 

Vehicle I-D, 2018: THE NEW CH-53K KING STALLION

Kit Bashing, Technology

Bare Metal Bombers: Wise Guy Resurrection

Video

U.S. Air Force photo by Kelly White.

Isn’t it interesting that as the U.S. Air Force (USAF) retires its B-1B bombers (in favor of the new B-21) that the USAF also keeps resurrecting its old B-52s?

U.S. Air Force photo by Kelly White.

In 2020, Wise Guy #6-0034 got resurrected by maintainers on Tinker Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma.  It’s the second B-52H, that had been mummified on Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, to be resurrected.

USAF photo by Kelly White.

Wise Guy arrived on Tinker AFB on 01APR2020.  The work done at Tinker is actually the final phase of a three phase regeneration process to bring Wise Guy back to life: “From Tinker, we had representatives from Air Force Life Cycle Management Logistics and Engineering, American Federation of Government Employees Local 916, Quality and the 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. The team integrated the additional Time Compliance Technical Orders and modifications with PDM [Programed Depot Maintenance] to optimize the schedule. The additional work is approximately 10-thousand man hours.”-Jeff Base, 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

USAF photo by Kelly White.

Wise Guy was retired after more than 17-thousand flight hours.  The decision to resurrect Wise Guy came in 2016, after a fire destroyed an active duty B-52 (from Minot AFB, North Dakota) on Anderson AFB, Guam.

USAF photo by Kelly White.

Due to a Congressional mandate to maintain a specific number of active B-52s, the USAF decided to replace the B-52 destroyed in a fire, with the mummified Wise Guy.

Music video by Senior Airman Kayla Palmer:

Inspections of Wise Guy began on Davis-Monthan AFB, in December 2018, with the official phase one regeneration process beginning in January 2019:  “We brought in aircraft structural specialists and crew chiefs who performed the initial aircraft structural integrity inspections and then transitioned into providing structural support.“-David Strawderman, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ted Daigle.

Amazingly, Wise Guy was worthy enough to fly, low & slow, to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, for phase two in May 2019: “It is a true testament to everyone who worked on the aircraft. To be able to pull it from storage and get it air-worthy in this short time is nothing short of amazing. True professionals from across the B-52 enterprise made this effort a success.”-David Strawderman, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ted Daigle.

Video by Airman Maxwell Daigle, zombified Wise Guy arrives on Barksdale AFB:

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ted Daigle.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ted Daigle.

A note found inside the cockpit of Wise Guy, after arrival at Barksdale AFB.

USAF photo by Ron Mullan.

Back on Tinker AFB, phase three was rolling along in November 2020.

USAF photo by Ron Mullan.

Wise Guy had sat, exposed to the elements of the Arizona desert, for ten years.

USAF photo by Ron Mullan.

While the resurrection work was plodding along on Wise Guy, right next door another resurrected B-52H known as Ghost Rider 6-1007 just happened to be undergoing a regular PDM.  Coincidence?  Ghost Rider was fully resurrected by September 2016.

USAF photo by Ron Mullan.

By the end of February 2021, both Wise Guy and Ghost Rider were ready to fly home.

USAF photo by Paul Shirk.

USAF photo by Paul Shirk.

Wise Guy arrived on its new home of Minot AFB, North Dakota, on 09MAR2021.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Jesse Jenny.

Video by by Airman First Class Zachary Wright, Wise Guy touches down on Minot AFB:

USAF photo by Airman First Class Jesse Jenny.

Bare Metal Bombers: B-1B & B-52H Ghost Rider

Divestiture: ANOTHER B-1B ‘BONE’ SENT TO THE BONEYARD! IS THE END NEAR?

Idaho, Technology

Idaho’s Tigers & Thunderbolts blast the skies over Florida!

Video

Idaho’s Thunderbolts and Bold Tigers routinely take part in Checkered Flag training over Florida: “They’re able to put together a bigger airspace for us than is available in the Nellis Test and Training Range, which means you can bring together more effectively much larger numbers of aircraft.”-Lieutenant Colonel Mark Nyberg, 389th Fighter Squadron ‘Thunderbolts’, November 2017

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Tiffany Price.

Checkered Flag is a wargame meant to ensure that U.S. Air Force and various state Air National Guard units can work together using the latest aircraft technology.

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Tiffany Price, 06NOV2020.

In the above photo, from Checkered Flag 21-1 (November 2020), an Idaho Thunderbolts F-15E is in the background, a California National Guard F-15C is in the foreground.

Video by Senior Airman Jacob Dastas, Idaho Thunderbolts at Checkered Flag 21-1:

Idaho’s Thunderbolts and Bold Tigers represent two different squadrons within the same wing based at Mountain Home Air Force Base (366th Fighter Wing, aka Gunfighters due to strapping 20mm Vulcan gun-pods to the bellies of their F-4Cs in Viet Nam).

USAF photo by Airman First Class Isaiah J. Soliz, 06NOV2017.

Thunderbolts at Checkered Flag 18-1, November 2017.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Javier Cruz, 16DEC2016.

The 391st Fighter Squadron (Bold Tigers) uses a tiger striped orange fin flash, while the 389th Fighter Squadron (originally flying P-47D Thunderbolts in World War Two) uses a maroon/red fin flash with a yellow lightning bolt.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Javier Cruz

Thunderbolts in the skies over Florida, 12DEC2016.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Javier Cruz

Thunderbolt touch-down during Checkered Flag 17-1, 12DEC2016.

Video by Staff Sergeant William Jackson, Bold Tigers at Checkered Flag 17-1:

Red Flag 21-2:

SINGAPORE’S IDAHO BASED SKY PIRATES BOMB LAS VEGAS?

Pandemic Morale Flights: SINGAPORE SKY PIRATES & IDAHO GUNFIGHTERS

Vehicle I-D: F-15EX HAS ARRIVED! COMMANDER SAYS “IT’S AN EX-CITING DAY!”

Idaho, Technology

Singapore’s Idaho based Sky Pirates bomb Las Vegas?

Video

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Natalie Rubenak.

Republic of Singapore’s F-15SG Strike Eagles of the 428th Fighter Squadron ‘Buccaneers’ are based on Mountain Home Air Force Base (AFB), in Southern Idaho.  But at the beginning of March 2021, they attacked the air space over Las Vegas, Nevada!

USAF photo by William R. Lewis, 18MAR2021.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Natalie Rubenak, 16MAR2021.

It’s part of Red Flag 21-2 wargame, over the Nevada Test and Training Range, Nellis AFB.

USAF photo by William R. Lewis, 18MAR2021.

U.S. Air Force video by Senior Airman JaNae Capuno, F-15SG Buccaneer during Red Flag 21-2, 15MAR2021:

USAF photo by Airman First Class Natalie Rubenak.

Not all of Singapore’s Idaho Buccaneers have fancy painted tails, this one was seen over Mountain Home AFB, 01MAR2021.  I also noticed that the F-15SG has similar antennae and ECM bumps as the new F-15EX.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Natalie Rubenak, 08MAR2021.

Red Flag 21-2 runs from March 8th through March 19th, 2021.

Pandemic Morale Flights: SINGAPORE SKY PIRATES & IDAHO GUNSLINGERS