One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
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1989–90<br />
restore democracy in Panama. F–117 Nighthawk stealth fighterbombers<br />
flew in combat for the first time. In the largest night-combat<br />
airdrop since World War II, Military <strong>Air</strong>lift Command aircraft transported<br />
9,500 airborne troops from Pope <strong>Air</strong> Force Base, North Carolina,<br />
to Panama in fewer than 36 hours. <strong>Air</strong>craft and crews <strong>of</strong> the 1st<br />
Special Operations Wing, 919th Special Operations Group, and 193d<br />
Special Operations Group earned the Mackay Trophy for special operations<br />
during JUST CAUSE.<br />
December 29–31: Two C–130 Hercules aircraft <strong>of</strong> the 435th Tactical <strong>Air</strong>lift<br />
Wing and the 37th Tactical <strong>Air</strong>lift Squadron transported 31 tons <strong>of</strong><br />
medical supplies to Bucharest, Rumania, for treatment <strong>of</strong> civilians<br />
wounded in a violent but successful anticommunist revolution.<br />
1990<br />
April 24: <strong>The</strong> National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the<br />
Hubble Space Telescope into Earth orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery.<br />
Designed to observe objects in outer space from beyond the distortions<br />
<strong>of</strong> Earth’s atmosphere, the new telescope promised to be the<br />
most accurate ever used.<br />
May 4: <strong>The</strong> AIM–120A advanced medium-range air-to-air missile passed its<br />
final flight test for use on U.S. fighters.<br />
May 22: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Air</strong> Force redesignated Twenty-Third <strong>Air</strong> Force as <strong>Air</strong> Force<br />
Special Operations Command.<br />
July 24: EC–135 Looking Glass flights ended after nearly 30 years. During<br />
the Cold War, they provided airborne nuclear command and control<br />
facilities.<br />
August 2: Iraq invaded Kuwait and quickly occupied the entire country, provoking<br />
the Southwest Asia War.<br />
August 7: <strong>The</strong> United States launched Operation DESERT SHIELD to<br />
defend Saudi Arabia from a possible Iraqi invasion. Among the first<br />
deployments was a 15-hour, 8,000-mile flight <strong>of</strong> 24 F–15C Eagles from<br />
Langley <strong>Air</strong> Force Base, Virginia, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, with 12 inflight<br />
refuelings. <strong>The</strong> aircraft arrived on August 8.<br />
August 9: Alaskan <strong>Air</strong> Command was redesignated Eleventh <strong>Air</strong> Force and<br />
assigned to Pacific <strong>Air</strong> Forces.<br />
August 17: President George H. W. Bush activated the Civil Reserve <strong>Air</strong> Fleet<br />
for the first time since it was authorized in 1952. <strong>The</strong> activation<br />
increased airlift resources available to deploy U.S. troops to the Persian<br />
Gulf area.<br />
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