One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

with a carbon dioxide laser, shot down a drone over White Sands Missile
Range, New Mexico. Two years later, the ALL successfully shot down five
Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, proving its utility as an antimissile system.
June 7: Israeli F–16 and F–15 aircraft destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor
near Baghdad to prevent the Iraqis from acquiring material to manufacture
a nuclear weapon.
June 18: The F–117 Nighthawk, the world’s first stealth combat aircraft, flew
for the first time. Hal Farley piloted the revolutionary aircraft, which
presented very little radar image, at Tonopah Test Range, Nevada.
The F–117A Nighthawk
1981
August 3: USAF air-traffic controllers began to man U.S. airport facilities,
replacing striking federal civilian personnel. This action allowed commercial
airlines to continue service despite the illegal strike.
September 15: Strategic Air Command received its first TR–1A reconnaissance
aircraft. Built by Lockheed-California, this improved and
enlarged version of the U–2 reconnaissance aircraft could conduct allweather
day-and-night missions at altitudes exceeding 70,000 feet.
October 2: Reversing former president James E. “Jimmy” Carter’s decision
to end the B–1 Lancer program, President Ronald W. Reagan
announced that the Air Force would build and deploy 100 of these aircraft.
President Reagan also announced that the M–X missile would be
deployed initially in existing missile silos.
October 14: Tactical Air Command deployed two E–3A Sentry airborne
warning and control system aircraft to Egypt to help ensure calm after
the assassination of Prime Minister Anwar Sadat.
November 5: The first operational EF–111A defense-suppression aircraft was
delivered to the 388th Electronic Combat Squadron at Mountain Home
Air Force Base, Idaho. The EF–111A would eventually replace EB–66 and
EB–57 aircraft to provide worldwide support of tactical air strike forces.
125