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

1987
July 4: For setting a dozen records for speed with payload in a new Rockwell
B–1B, Lt. Col. Robert Chamberlain and his crew earned part of the
Mackay Trophy for most meritorious flight of the year (see entry for
September 17, below).
A B–1B Lancer soars over Wyoming. A long-range strategic bomber, the B–1B is
capable of flying intercontinental missions without refueling and then penetrating
sophisticated enemy defenses.
July 24: In Operation EARNEST WILL, the United States began providing
protection to reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Persian Gulf during
the Iran-Iraq War. The Air Force provided E–3 airborne warning and
control system aircraft to warn of aerial threats, C–5 and C–141 aircraft
to airlift minesweeping personnel and equipment to the theater, and
KC–10 and KC–135 aircraft to refuel escorting Navy fighters. The
operation continued until November 17, 1988.
September 17: For setting nine flight records for speed in a B–1B aircraft,
Maj. Brent A. Hedgpeth and his crew earned part of the Mackay Trophy
for most meritorious flight of the year (see entry for July 4, above).
October 1: Air Force Systems Command relinquished Onizuka Air Force
Station, California, and the Air Force Satellite Control Network—a set
of worldwide remote-tracking stations—to Air Force Space Command.
December 8: The United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, agreeing to
remove all intermediate-range (620–3,415 statute miles) missiles from
Europe. The agreement resulted in the inactivation of six USAF tactical
missile wings equipped with ground-launched cruise missiles.
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