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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2002<br />
May 13: President George W. Bush announced an agreement between the<br />
United States and Russia that would reduce the number <strong>of</strong> nuclear<br />
weapons in their arsenals by two-thirds.<br />
May 22: <strong>The</strong> X–45A unmanned combat air vehicle flew for the first time at<br />
Edwards <strong>Air</strong> Force Base, California. It was the first unmanned aircraft<br />
designed for combat operations, such as suppression <strong>of</strong> enemy air<br />
defenses, in an extremely hostile environment.<br />
July 22: At McConnell <strong>Air</strong> Force Base, Kansas, the YAL–1A, destined to<br />
become the world’s first directed-energy combat aircraft, completed<br />
its first flight. A modified Boeing 747, the YAL–1A was designed to<br />
carry an airborne laser to destroy enemy missiles in their boost phases.<br />
August 21: <strong>The</strong> first Lockheed-Martin Atlas V lifted <strong>of</strong>f from Cape<br />
Canaveral, Florida, inaugurating a new type <strong>of</strong> launch missile. Part <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Air</strong> Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, the system<br />
used a standard booster, adding supplemental boosters as needed<br />
for a variety <strong>of</strong> payloads.<br />
October 1: U.S. Northern Command activated as a new unified command<br />
under Gen. Ralph Eberhart, <strong>USAF</strong>, who remained commander <strong>of</strong> the<br />
North American Aerospace Defense Command. Including elements <strong>of</strong><br />
all the U.S. armed services, the new command assumed responsibility<br />
for the military protection <strong>of</strong> North America.<br />
October 1: Gen. John Jumper, <strong>Air</strong> Force chief <strong>of</strong> staff, authorized deactivation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile system. Each<br />
missile was originally designed to carry 10 independently targetable<br />
warheads, but the end <strong>of</strong> the Cold War made the system unnecessary.<br />
December 9: <strong>One</strong> day after Typhoon Pongsona devastated Guam with sustained<br />
winds <strong>of</strong> 150 miles per hour, the <strong>Air</strong> Force began airlifting relief<br />
equipment and supplies to the island. Within 10 days, 58 C-5 missions<br />
delivered 1,200 tons <strong>of</strong> humanitarian cargo to Andersen <strong>Air</strong> Force Base.<br />
162