Portal:United States Air Force
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 The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. Initially born as the United States Army Air Corps, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947. It was the last branch of the US military to be formed. The USAF is the largest, most technologically advanced air force in the world, with about 5,778 manned aircraft in service (4,093 USAF; 1,289 Air National Guard; and 396 Air Force Reserve); approximately 156 Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles, 2130 Air-Launched Cruise Missiles, and 450 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles; and as of 30 September 2007, had 328,600 personnel on active duty, 117,497 in the Selected and Individual Ready Reserves, and 106,700 in the Air National Guard. In addition, the Air Force employs 168,900 civilian personnel including indirect hire of foreign nationals. The Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force who heads administrative affairs. The Department of the Air Force is a division of the Department of Defense, headed by the Secretary of Defense. The highest ranking military officer in the Department of the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
Front on view of the Grumman X-29, an experimental aircraft that flew in the 1980s and 1990s. The X-29 implemented new technologies including the forward-swept wings and canard control surface.
photo source: U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center photos  366th Fighter Wing is a composite unit of the United States Air Force headquartered at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Originally activated as the 366th Fighter Group on 10 June 1943, the wing has served in World War II, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, and the Global War on Terror. The 366th currently consists of two squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagles, one squadron of F-15C Eagle.  ... that in World War II, David M. Jones, later a U.S. Air Force Major General, participated in events that formed the basis for two Hollywood movies: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and The Great Escape? Jones was one of the Doolittle Raiders, and later a prisoner of war in North Africa — leading the digging of escape tunnels.  The AH-56 Cheyenne was a four-bladed, single-engine attack helicopter developed by Lockheed for the United States Army's Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) program to produce the Army's first, dedicated attack helicopter. Lockheed designed the AH-56 utilizing a rigid-rotor and configured the aircraft as a compound helicopter; with low-mounted wings and a tail-mounted thrusting propeller. It was armed with a 30 mm cannon in a belly turret and either a 7.62 mm minigun or a 40 mm grenade launcher in a nose turret, as well as six wing hardpoints capable of mounting 2.75 inch (70 mm) rocket launchers and TOW missiles. The compound helicopter design was intended to provide a 212-knot dash capability in order to serve as an armed escort to the Army's transport helicopters, such as the UH-1 Iroquois.  Lieutenant General Hubert R. Harmon (1892 - 1957) was the first Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy. He was instrumental in developing plans for the establishment of the Academy and setting the groundwork for its development into a successful educational institution. He served in the U.S. military from 1915 to 1956. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1915. In 1918, Harmon completed advanced training in pursuit aviation at Issoudun, France. In 1920 he transferred to the Air Service. He graduated from the Air Service Engineering School in August 1925. In 1933, he graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama, and in 1935, he graduated from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Harmon graduated from the Army War College in 1938. In 1940, Harmon assumed command of the Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas, and one year later he was named commanding general of the Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center at Randolph Field, Texas. On August 14, 1954, General Harmon became the first superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy at its temporary home in Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado. In addition to his extensive military education and roles in aviation training, Harmon commanded the Sixth Air Force, 13th Air Force, during World War II. He also served as commander of AirSols, all Allied air units in the Solomon Islands campaign. 
B-52 Quick Launch Capability' Summary: 12/30/2008 - ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam. (36th Wing Public Affairs) — Through the month of December a B-52 Stratofortress squadron deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam tested a "cartridge start" or "cat-start" method to launch its aircraft. The method works by placing controled explosives in two of the aircraft's eight engines. It allows the aircraft to take off in less than ten-minutes, vice the hour plus that it generally requires and eliminates the need to use aerospace groud equipment to assist with engine stratup. The accelerated stratup is critical to enabling aircraft to respond to global threats at a moment's notice.  "If our air forces are never used, they have achieved their finest goal."
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