The SR-71 spy plane, the most advanced member of the Blackbird family that included the A-12 and YF-12, was designed by a team of Lockheed personnel led by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, then vice president of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company Projects, commonly known as the “Skunk Works” and now a part of Lockheed Martin. The Blackbird completed its first flight on Dec. 22, 1964.
The SR-71 was designed to cruise at “Mach 3+,” just over three times the speed of sound or more than 2,200 miles per hour and at altitudes up to 85,000 feet.
Frags (from the Vietnam War-era term of “fragging,” or “frags” for short, to indicate a practical joke) were part of SR-71 Blackbird crew members (or Habus)’ traditions.
Oscar’s Balls—flown over 70,000 feet in a U-2
Former Blackbird pilot Richard H. Graham recalls a very special frag that took place at Kadena Air Base (AB), Okinawa, Japan, home of Sr-71 Det. 1.
‘Habus once fragged the 9th SRW/Det 2, our sister U-2 detachment located at Osan, Korea. Det 2 crews and personnel were known as the “Blackcats” and wore a U-2 patch depicting a black cat. They also had a Det 2 mascot, a black male cat called, Oscar. For Oscar to be the true Det mascot they flew him on a U-2 mission in one of the empty mission bays. After the flight he became crazed and was never the same again. They decided to have Oscar castrated to see if that would calm him down. At the Det’s request, the vet saved Oscar’s testicles, where they were proudly displayed in a glass jar in Operations for all to see. The inscription on the out-side of the jar read, “Oscar’s Balls—flown over 70,000 feet in a U-2.”’
Colonel Tom Alison describes what happened next.
‘The frag of Det 2 concerning “Oscar’s Balls” occurred in early December, 1978, and JT [JT Vida was Alison’s RSO] and I were the crew involved. It was the only time we ever had to divert/land away on a GIANT SCALE mission and occurred on a night sortie over the DMZ when we had a generator failure. We only had two land aways in over 120 operational sorties and six years (speaks highly of the jet). We diverted into Osan AB, Korea, at night, and the folks at Det 2 were extremely helpful in getting us settled.
Spying the jar with “Oscar’s Balls”
‘The recovery team arrived the next morning, and the fairly routine generator replacement was accomplished, and everything looked good for an early morning departure the next day, which was a Saturday. JT and I had decided that, if at all possible, a frag was in order and had talked about what would be appropriate. The Det 2 Commander at the time was Lt. Col. Doyle Krumery. He had a large beautiful desk in his office that he was very proud of. With the help of a couple of crew chiefs, we entered the Det offices later that night and very carefully moved the prized desk into a shower stall in the PSD area. Not a scratch… we were very proud of ourselves!
‘On the way out of the Det we spied the jar with “Oscar’s Balls” prominently displayed in the operations area. It was perfect. JT put the jar in a helmet bag and stowed it in the rear cockpit early the next morning. Since it was a Saturday and no Det 2 flying was scheduled, all the U-2 people slept in and no one had gotten to the Det to discover the jar with Oscar’s balls was missing. All the way through engine start, taxi, and takeoff we expected to hear a radio call to come back immediately until the missing items were found. As it turned out, the desk in the shower caused so much of an uproar that Oscar was overlooked. I think our maintenance people even got loaded on the tanker and headed back to Kadena before the “the real frag” was discovered.
“Oscar’s Balls—flown Mach 3+ in an SR-71”
‘On our way back to Kadena, which was a “hot” flight, we decided how we were going to put the finishing touches on our frag. When we arrived back at Det 1, we got together with Chuck Weithoff the SAS/autopilot technical representative, and a good friend. He fried two chicken hearts until they were just two little black, hard things, and then we took a needle and some dark thread and wove a short strand between the fried chicken hearts.
‘It was rather easy to get another jar that was the same as the one that held the precious cargo. After filling the jar with water (I don’t know what was in the jar with “Oscar’s Balls”—we never had the courage to actually open the jar) we added the chicken hearts. It was amazing how they looked exactly like the original except they were burned black! Since the U-2 guys were so proud that they had taken “Oscar” flying in the “Dragon Lady,” we put a label on the jar that read, “Oscar’s Balls—flown Mach 3+ in an SR-71.”
U-2 pilots vow they would get even
‘We then, appearing as contrite as we could, had the jar returned to Det 2 with our profound apologies because, we said, the jar had been stored in an aircraft bay that had gotten hot on the trip back to Kadena and “Oscar’s Balls” had been fried! JT and I returned to Beale before the reaction traveled back to Det 1; however, knowing Doyle Krumery’s explosive nature, it wasn’t hard to imagine the conversation between him and the Det 1 commander, Lt. Col. Bob Cunningham.’
Alison concludes;
‘Later, the real “Oscar’s Balls” were returned to Det 2. However, the U-2 pilots vowed they would get even. Sometime later, when one of them was at Kadena they took from the Det 1 office a jar containing a Habu snake. They thought they had purloined a Det 1 prize. We had to tell them, that we had numerous jars with Habus in them and they could keep it if they wanted!’
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Early in the morning of Aug. 2, 1990, aircraft of the Iraqi Air Force (IrAF) bombed Kuwaiti air bases, and then the Iraqi Republican Guards stormed into the country. Although encountering some problems, the Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait in a matter of a few days.
However, when President Saddam Hussein of Iraq unleashed his military upon Kuwait, little did he know what kind of reaction he would provoke from the Western superpowers, and what kind of devastation his country would suffer in return.
Alarmed by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the USA and Saudi Arabia scrambled to react. Negotiations quickly revealed the obvious: despite all the investment of the proceeding decades, the desert kingdom was unable to protect itself. Therefore, the decision was taken to rush several carrier battle groups, dozens of combat aircraft, and entire units of the US Army and the US Marine Corps to the scene. As US allies from Europe and abroad followed in fashion, the biggest military build-up in the last two decades of the 20th Century came into being. Meanwhile, along the borders between Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, each side observed the other closely, and anxiously, took counsel of its fears and prepared for what Saddam eventually declared ‘The Mother of All Battles’ (Umm al-Ma’arik).
The first to respond
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The Americans were the first to respond and on Aug.7 General Powell, Chairman of the JCS, ordered the ready brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, Maritime Prepositioning Squadrons (MPS) from Guam and Diego Garcia, the CVBG with USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN-69) and the battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64) — that carried BGM-109 Tomahawk land-attack missiles — 12 squadrons of combat aircraft, and three equipped with E-3 Sentry AWACS and tankers to the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding waters. The code-name of this operation, formally introduced on Aug. 8, 1990, became Desert Shield; this was initiated with the landing of Colonel Ron Rokosz’s 2nd Brigade of the 82nd ‘All-American’ Airborne Division at Dhahran AB.
For political and diplomatic reasons, CENTCOM would not have headquarters in its area of responsibility, but at MacDill Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida. This made it difficult for its commanders to establish relations with the local forces but this was neither immediately necessary nor possible: until early 1990 its primary focus was on thwarting ‘a Soviet invasion of Iran.’
As explained by E.R. Hooton & Tom Cooper in their book Desert Storm Volume 1: the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Shield 1990-1991, in addition to receiving satellite imagery, CENTCOM also benefitted from a wide variety of platforms to probe behind the enemy lines. The first USAF aircraft used were SAC’s Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint, which began Burning Wind SIGINT missions infantry on Aug. 9 and within two days were providing 24-hour coverage.
Joint Surveillance Target Acquisition System
On Aug. 29, SAC’s Lockheed U-2 very high altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft and Lockheed TR-1 tactical reconnaissance with side-looking radar began operations as imagery was clearly the vital, and on Sep. 8 the first medium-altitude photographic reconnaissance missions were flown by McDonnell-Douglas RF-4Cs. By Dec. 2 Gen. Charles Horner’s (Commander of US and allied air operations for Operation Desert Shield (and later Desert Storm) reconnaissance arm had flown 469 tactical, 421 strategic and 2,800 ELINT sorties, while AWACS— which both supported the shield and monitored IrAF activity had flown 253 sorties.
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One reconnaissance system which was late to the table was the Joint Surveillance Target Acquisition System (J-STARS) — an airborne battlefield surveillance radar system with a range of 150 kilometres, installed into a modified Boeing 707, re-designated as the E-8A. Schwarzkopf requested its deployment as early as of Aug. 10 but in early September the Joint Chiefs rejected the request arguing, ‘Desert Shield is not suitable in time or place for introduction J-STARS’. Only at the last minute did the Pentagon change its mind: the two available aircraft arrived on Jan. 12, 1991, together with six ground stations and four support vehicles that provided 44 remote terminals.
F-117A flying close to Iraqi Airways Boeing 747
Conventional reconnaissance aircraft seem to have been not the only ones deployed by the US-led Coalition to monitor developments inside Iraq and Kuwait. Late during the evening of Dec. 16 1990, the crew of an Iraqi Airways Boeing 747 led by Captain Remzi (former fighter pilot with a long career of flying Sukhoi Su-7BMKs and Su-20s during the war with Iran) reported sighting an F-117A fighter close to the left wingtip of their aircraft – and that while underway over Najaf.
As far as is known, this was the first-ever encounter between an Iraqi pilot and the shadowy stealth fighter of the US Air Force. Although it remains unknown to this day what exactly the latter was doing only 200 kilometres southwest of Baghdad at that point in time, we can assume the F-117A served the purpose pf testing IrAF’s air defences. However, the F-117A sighted by Remzi startled the commanders of the IrAF, forcing them into the conclusion that they lacked the means to effectively combat the most advanced US combat aircraft.
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Ships, aircraft, and a submarine from the US and UK were involved in Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026, a multi-domain sinking exercise (SINKEX) led by US 6th Fleet, in the North Atlantic, Sep. 25, 2026.
According to a US Navy news release, during the SINKEX, participating forces assigned to U.S. Commander, Task Force 65, US Commander, Task Force 67, US Commander, Task Force 68, US Commander, Task Force 69 and US Commander, Task Force 1060 alongside the UK Royal Navy and the US Air Force sank the decommissioned guided-missile frigate ex-USS Klakring. The event developed combined proficiency in tactics, targeting, and live-firing against a surface target at sea.
“Atlantic Thunder demonstrates the unmatched lethality and interoperability of the United States and United Kingdom,” said US Capt. Kelechi Ndukwe, Commander, U.S. Task Force 65. “This sinking exercise not only validated the power behind U.S.-UK offensive weapons but delivers a clear message to adversaries that the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy remain a ready allied force.”
HMS Portland fires a Naval Strike Missile on Sep. 20, 2026, during a sinking exercise.
The exercise strengthens the US-UK alliance, warfighting credibility, and interoperability during long-range maritime sinking operations. During the SINKEX, the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) successfully demonstrated maximum damage and range capability of an anti-surface variant of the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6). USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) successfully engaged the target with the Mk 48 Advanced Capability Torpedo, resulting in the final hit and ultimately sinking ex-USS Klakring, as the video in this post shows.
US and UK units involved in the exercise
During the exercise, the Royal Navy confirmed its newest ship-busting missiles, the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) and Sea Venom.
“The successful firing of NSM marks a significant milestone for the Royal Navy, demonstrating our ability to deliver credible, modern maritime strike capability,” said Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Louise Kirkaldy, HMS Portland’s Principal Warfare.
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Prior to the start of the exercise Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock and Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific used sensors placed on the target ship to perform battle damage assessments. The data gathered will be used in post-exercise damage assessments to provide critical information to rapidly identify system failures, determine repair needs, and strengthen the Navy’s future real-world response.
US and UK units involved in the exercise included Paul Ignatius, USS Massachusetts, Royal Navy frigate HMS Portland (F 79), US Navy and Royal Air Force P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, a Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter, US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles, and personnel assigned to US Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 8.
USS Klakring
USS Klakring (FFG-42) was a Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate of the United States Navy named for Rear Admiral Thomas B. Klakring (1904–1975), who was awarded three Navy Crosses as commander of the submarine USS Guardfish during World War II.
The decommissioned guided-missile frigate ex-USS Klakring (FFG 42) is struck during a sinking exercise (SINKEX) as part of Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026 on Sep. 20, 2026.
Klakring was laid down on 19 February 1982 by the Bath Iron Works Corp. Bath, Maine; launched on Sep. 18, 1982, sponsored by Beverly Bohen, niece of Rear Admiral Klakring, and commissioned on Aug. 20, 1983 at Bath.
The USS Klakring was decommissioned on Mar. 22, 2013.
Hulks
Former US Navy vessels used in SINKEXs, referred to as hulks, are prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency under a general permit the Navy holds pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
Prior to being transported, each hulk undergoes a rigorous cleaning process for environmental safety. Aligned with UK Ministry of Defense environmental policy, robust monitoring was conducted above and below the sea’s surface with trained personnel using specialized equipment to reduce the overall risk of inadvertent impact to the marine environment and marine mammals during the Atlantic Thunder 2026 SINKEX.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy and Royal Navy
Video: VIDEO: Former U.S. Frigate Sunk in Exercise with U.S., Royal Navies Dzirhan Mahadzir September 30, 2026 1:27 PM
One of the most well-known bombers of all time, the B-17 Flying Fortress became famous for the long daylight bombing raids over Europe in WWII. While it lacked the range and bomb load of its contemporary B-24 Liberator, the B-17 became the more famous of the two due to the many tales of B-17s bringing their crews back home despite heavy damage. With up to thirteen machine guns, the B-17 seemed to be genuine flying “fortress in the sky.”
Ask anyone who has seen one, heard one, or flown one “Is the B-17 the best bomber ever built?” They will likely give you more explanations than you care to hear about this magnificent aircraft. To most warbird enthusiasts, there is just nothing like a B-17 Flying Fortress. As explained by Brent William Perkins in his book Memphis Belle: Biography of a B-17 Flying Fortress, with the classic lines of the early military, the Fort typifies what a heavy aircraft ought to look like. A large sweeping tail and broad wings, along with the angled windshield and distinctive nosepiece make the B-17 stand out among other designs.
Just sitting still, a B-17 gives the appearance of a warrior, while at the same time showing the graceful curves of a Hollywood movie star. Bristling with heavy machine guns in every direction and sitting tail low as if it is ready to leap into the air where, with its broad and deep wings, it finds its home. Dubbed “The Flying Fortress” by Richard Williams, newspaper reporter for the Seattle Times, the bomber was conceived under the Boeing proposal known as the model 299. It was April 1934, and a flyable prototype had to be ready in less than one year.
Ensuring total victory
Boeing Model 299
With the certainty of war on the horizon, military strategists were looking towards airpower to ensure total victory. At the time, there was no bomber in the US arsenal that could meet the coming demands that aerial warfare would require. The US Army Air Corps (the USAF was not born until 1947) needed more range, precision weapons delivery, and combat survivability than the aircraft in the inventories could handle at that time. The call went out. Design a bomber that can fly for ten hours at 25,000 feet, can climb to 10,000 feet in five minutes, and can maintain 7,000 feet with the designed useful load and one engine out.
Boeing had done it. After spending only $275,000.00, the 299 rolled out of the factory on Jul. 17, 1935. The 299 could carry up to 4,800 pounds of weapons in the bomb bay just a little more than a the year after going on the drafting tables. Little did they know that they had designed an aircraft that would set the standards for high altitude bombing through the end of the century.
Only one month and three days after roll out and accumulating some 14 hours and 5 minutes of test time, the 299 took off from Seattle, WA, bound for Wright-Patterson near Dayton, OH. Nine hours and three minutes later it put the rubber on the runway in Ohio. Average ground speed was 233 mph. This flight stole the show from the up and coming Douglas B-18, which was really just a beefed up DC-2. It also overshadowed the much worked over Martin B-10.
B-24 Vs B-17
On Jan. 17, 1937, the Air Corps placed an order for thirteen YB-17s. Production for the plane would run a little more than eight years through August 1945, after some 12,731 Fortresses were built. It is believed that around 10,000 of these actually left the United States for assignments all over the world. Despite the Fort’s uncanny ability to survive major battle damage, roughly 4,500 B-17s were lost in combat flying mainly from the European Theatre of Operations and the unsinkable aircraft carrier known as the United Kingdom. From this island, the mighty Eighth Air Force launched the greatest air armada ever—where the sky roared for a thousand days and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress marked its place in history.
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Is the B-17 the very best bomber ever built’? For years, the argument has continued between the B-17 and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Was the B-24 the better plane? This question has consumed far too many for far too many years. The Liberator carried more, was faster, and could fly higher than the B-17. Although they did fly next to each other in combat, their role was a little different. The Flying Fortress and the Liberator complimented each other and were never meant to be competitors. However, competition was inevitable, as they were both successful bombing platforms.
New bomber designs
The two bombers were simply the result of an exhaustive search by the War Department through aircraft builders for the new bomber designs that were so badly needed. Of the design submissions, the -17 and the -24 were the best. Their designs were simply the result of what was needed at the time. Consider the numbers. B-24 production ran up to 18,188 of the huge twin-tailed leviathans. However, by the end of the war, so many modifications had been made to the B-24 that it could no longer fly further or faster than the B-17.
Wartime Impact – The ability to penetrate hostile airspace, weather enemy threats, carry the correct bomb load, deliver the load successfully, and return home. Defensive Characteristics – From single barrel machine guns through electronic counter measures, stealth, and even speed. What bomber defends itself better than any other? Range – Could the bomber launch, ingress, loiter, deliver, and return? Available Bomb Load – What could carry the most and how many different types of weapons could it haul? Accuracy – The result of the bomb delivery system and the aircraft’s stability and control predictability. Survivability – Evading or withstanding enemy ground-fire and aerial attack. What bomber had the lowest loss to sortie ratio?
B-17: The best bomber ever built
B-17 and B-24 bombers
From the time that aerial bombing began through today, these aircraft stand out among the very best ever designed: the German Gotha bombers; the Heinkel 111; the B-17; B-24; Lancaster; Aichi D3A Val; the B-47 Stratojet; the B-52 Stratofortress; the FB-111; the B-58 Hustler; B-1 Lancer; B-2 Spirit and more.
Most agree, given the above criteria, that the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is the best bomber ever built. Apparently, the US military felt the same way. The baker one-seven was not fully retired from active service until the late 1960s!
The debate over which was the better plane began early in the War and continues even today. General James Doolittle wrote his studied comparisons, in which he partly stated that in an effort to improve the B-24’s defensive characteristics, performance was compromised at the expense of the added weight of the armor and armament. One very unusual example of the Army Air Corps attempt to improve on the Liberator was to graft the entire front of a B-17G onto a B-24J. The results were terribly unsuitable, and only three tests were flown by this plane. The hybrid bomber could only climb to 18,000 feet and lacked both longitudinal and directional stability.
One note from the study report stated that the installation increased the already excessive basic weight of the B-24J. But the Bombardier and Navigator reported that they favored the increased room in the forward compartment over the traditional B-24 arrangement.
Memphis Belle: Biography of a B-17 Flying Fortress is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo credit: Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire via Wikipedia, UK San Diego Air & Space Museum and Senior Airman Curt Beach/U.S. Air Force
Jay Lacklen is a retired Air Force reserve pilot with 12,000 military flying hours. He grew up in Arlington, VA, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel in 1969. He entered service in 1970 and retired in 2004 as a Lt Col with 12,500 flying hours. Lacklen taught Air Force T-1 pilot training simulators at Columbus AFB, Mississippi from 2005-2014. He grew up in Arlington, VA and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1969. In addition to pilot training aircraft, he flew 330 hours in the C-7 Caribou, 2000 hours in the B-52 bomber, and 9,500 hours in the C-5 Galaxy transport.
He flew in all major military actions from Vietnam to the Iraq War. Lacklen lives in northern Virginia and is married with four adult daughters and two granddaughters.
The Central Highlands could present challenges. The often austere fields lay between ridge lines or, in one case, sat on a planed-off hilltop that sloped away in all directions.
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I once watched my aircraft commander make three attempts to land on one. The steeply sloping terrain made judging the landing difficult. All normal visual cues told the brain you were still far above the field, and yet, suddenly there it was, immediately below you, leaving the plane too high to land. Finally, on the third frustrating try, the pilot, although still too high, decided to put it down anyway. I couldn’t believe he would try it, but I had no control over the situation except, perhaps, to scream.
The pilot dove the aircraft at the 1,500-foot runway, then yanked back hard on the yoke just above it. Unfortunately, the dive had increased our airspeed, so the plane floated, possibly catastrophically, down the short runway.
Metal runway
We touched down with about seven hundred feet remaining on the slippery PSP metal runway before the terrain dropped steeply into the jungle. The pilot slammed on the brakes and yanked the engines into reverse. The plane skidded and rotated slowly sideways as the reversed props threw up a huge dust cloud that enveloped us. Even though I couldn’t see the precipice through the dust, I knew it was approaching and we’d be lucky not to roll off the end and down the steep slope.
We stopped, blessedly, on level ground. The pilot took the throttles out of reverse, and the dust cloud slowly dissipated as we both sat gasping and speechless. Looking forward, I could not see level ground, only the jungle a hundred feet below. We had stopped with just enough runway overrun remaining to turn sharply to taxi back to the cargo ramp area. Another five feet and we’d have been bouncing down the slope into the jungle, and infamy.”
The US Navy announced Boeing has been awarded a multi-billion-dollar contract to produce its F/A-XX aircraft. The fighter will revolutionize advancements in open mission systems architecture, advanced mission systems and operational reach and capacity. F/A-XX is intended to replace the service’s fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornets.
“It’s an honor to be selected to produce the Navy’s first sixth-generation platform. Backed by decades of work, bolstered by game-changing innovations and solidified by the investments we’ve made in new facilities uniquely suited to build multiple products with next generation capabilities, our dedicated and talented team is ready to execute this critical program,” said Steve Parker, president and chief executive officer, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, in a company news release.
“Delivering two advanced fighters in parallel was always our plan, and we invested accordingly. We are ready and able to build multiple concurrent future combat aircraft franchise programs,” said Parker.
Construction continues on Boeing’s secure manufacturing facility, the largest in the U.S. Located in St. Louis, the facility will be part of the world’s most advanced, all-digital aerospace design and manufacturing system.
“Investment in facilities is just one part of the story; we’re also investing in technology and people so that we can deliver for our customers,” Parker added.
The technical and programmatic details of F/A-XX remain classified under US national security and export laws.
Northrop Grumman Vs Boeing
Noteworthy, only Northrop Grumman and Boeing were left to race one against the other in the US Navy Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) sixth-generation fighter jet program aimed at replacing F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft by means of a new air superiority fighter.
The Navy released this artist’s rendering of the Boeing F/A-XX, highlighting the Navy’s 6th-generation fighter intended to replace the service’s fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornets. Artist rendering: NAVAIR Public Release SPR-2026-0601.
As already reported in March 2025, the proposal submitted by Lockheed Martin to the service did not satisfy the US Navy’s criteria, a source with knowledge on the matter explained to Breaking Defense. What we know is that up to November 2024 proposals were evaluated by the service but as of today is not clear when Lockheed Martin was knocked out of the project. However, the company was no longer proceeding with any bid.
If Northrop Grumman had won the F/A-XX contract it would be the first fighter built by the company since the iconic F-14 Tomcat; instead since Boeing won the F/A-XX contract its facility in St. Louis will see a brighter future given that the company builds fighters in that facility.
Core attribute
According to a statement released in April 2025 by Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, director of the Air Warfare division for the CNO, a “core attribute” of the F/A-XX is expected to be its range, up to “probably” 125 percent “of the range that we’re currently seeing today to give us better flexibility [and] operational reach.”
In a written testimony to Congress in May 2022, Navy officials said that the service NGAD program is meant to expand the range for carrier-based operations.
“The NGAD [family of systems] will replace the F/A-18E/F Block II aircraft as they begin to reach end of service life in the 2030s and leverage Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) in order to provide increased lethality and survivability,” reads joint testimony from Department of Navy acquisition officials. “F/A-XX is the strike fighter component of the NGAD FoS that will be the ‘Quarterback’ of the MUM-T concept, directing multiple tactical platforms at the leading edge of the battlespace.”
Since the F-14 Tomcat interceptor left the inventory in 2006 the effective combat radius of the carrier air wing has contracted. Since the Pentagon’s strategy focused on the Indo-Pacific and the need to counter China in a potential conflict, the Navy has had to explore ways to extend the range of carrier operations due to the vastness of the region. The MQ-25A Stingray unmanned carrier tanker will nominally increase the combat radius.
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B-36 Peacemaker survived to five cancellation attempts
The B-36 was first conceived in 1941 as a transatlantic bomber to strike Europe from bases in the US. By 1943, the focus switched from the European Theater to the Pacific for use against the Japanese home islands. After more design changes and greater success of the B-29s, the prototype XB-36s first flight was delayed until Aug. 8, 1946; nearly six years after initial design contracts were signed.
When production ended in August 1954, more than 380 B-36s had been built for the US Air Force. In 1958-1959, the USAF replaced the B-36 with the B-52. Although never used in combat, the B-36 was a major deterrent to enemy aggression.
As explained by Meyers K. Jacobsen in his book Convair B-36: A Comprehensive History of America’s “Big Stick”, it is interesting to note that the B-36 program might have been canceled at least five times during the big bomber’s career. It is a testament to the plane itself that it did manage to survive during a difficult transitional period in Air Force history.
First possible cancellation:
The letter of intent, dated Jul. 23, 1943, from the Army Air Forces to Convair, was superseded a year later by a definitive contract for 100 B-36 airplanes. This $160 million contract included a $6 million fixed fee, and the cost of all spare parts and engineering data. However, the contract had no priority by that time, but delivery schedules remained the same, with the first B-36 off the production due in August 1945 and the last in October 1946.
With victory in sight, war contracts were being scrutinized for cancellation, or drastic cutback. Aircraft production was actually cut by 30% on May 25, 1945, a reduction of 17,000 planes. As far as the B-36 was concerned, there was no question that a long range bomber was needed. In 1945; the B-36 seemed the best answer, so, on Aug. 6, 1945, General Arnold approved the Air Staff recommendation to keep the B-36 production contract intact.
Second possible cancellation:
On Dec. 12, 1946, General Kenney, who had been promoted to four star general in March 1945, and had headed SAC since April 1946, suggested reducing the procurement contract for the 100 B-36s to just a few service-test aircraft. After studying available performance estimates on the B-36, the SAC commander believed it to be inferior to the forthcoming B-50, an advanced B-29 design. Among the shortcomings of the B-36 cited by General Kenney, were a useful range of only 6,500 miles, insufficient speed, and lack of protection for the bomber’s fuel load.
Neither the Air Staff or Lt. General Nathan F. Twining, AMC commanding general, agreed. General Twining said that the B-36 should not be judged solely from the XB-36, which had just started its flight testing. He added, all new airplanes encounter teething problems, including the B-17 and B-29. Moreover, the B-36 was the only suitable aircraft far enough along to serve as an interim long range atomic bomb carrier until the B-52 arrived. General Carl Spaatz, the AAF’s new commander, wholly agreed with General Twining. The B-36 contract was retained in full.
Third possible cancellation:
The new Air Force Aircraft and Weapons Board, formed by new Deputy Chief of the Air Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, met on Aug. 19, 1947, and discussed the future role of strategic bombing, and the means of accomplishing such missions, if so needed. The senior officers were to recommend the weapons that best supported the long range plans for the Air Force’s development and gradual buildup to 70 groups.
The board members differed on how to solve these complex problems. Some considered the B-36 already obsolete and favored buying fast jet bombers—a gamble, since these would have insufficient range and would not be available for years. Others wanted to increase the B-36’s speed with the new proposed VDT engine, using the plane as an all-purpose bomber. Still others preferred the B-50, because it was faster than the present B-36 and could also obtain greater range and speed with the addition of VDT engines.
However, after prolonged discussion, a consensus emerged to retain the B-36 as a special purpose bomber, which would eventually be replaced by the B-52 (1953 at the earliest). The B-36 program avoided cancellation once again.
Fourth possible cancellation:
When it became obvious that a faster B-36 (designated B-36C, equipped with VDT engines) could not be obtained, the Air Force once more thought of cancelling the entire B-36 program. Yet, various factors had to be considered. Twenty-two of the basic and relatively slow B-36As were nearly completed by spring 1948. A great deal of money had already been spent on the controversial program. Therefore, the Air Force decided to postpone any decisions. It instructed Air Materiel Command to waive the modification of several shop-completed B-36As that had been awaiting adjustments, and to expedite their delivery. This would allow Convair to speed up the aircraft’s flight test program. Also, new yardsticks, the VR diagrams, were to be used to measure the B-36’s real performance against other bombers under similar conditions.
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Test results, though not spectacular, favored the B-36. It seemed that the B-36, so maligned, might turn out to be a better airplane than had been expected. If so, any hasty reduction of the production contract might wreck the program, just as it was beginning to pay off. The beginning of the Russian blockade of West Berlin on Jun. 18, 1948, spared the Air Force’s indecision. USAF officials, deeply concerned by the Soviets’ aggression, unanimously agreed to stay with the B-36. The proposed 34 VDT-equipped B-36Cs would revert to the B-36B configuration, assuring the Air Force of getting 95 of the 100 B-36s under contract since June 1943. The B-36 was saved from cancellation another time.
Curtailment of the defense budget
Curtailment of the defense budget in 1949 brought interservice disagreements to a boil. The Air Force and the Navy had long recognized that whichever service possessed the atomic mission would eventually receive a larger share of the budget. Thus, they had grown more and more wary of each other’s strategic programs. Meanwhile, the B-36, the Air Force’s atomic carrier, had been the target of much criticism, even though few people had even seen it, let alone flown in it.
In early 1949, the B-36’s future was highly questionable. An anonymous document began making the rounds in the press, congressional, and aircraft industry circles charging that corruption had entered into the B-36’s selection, and that the aircraft’s performance did not live up to Air Force claims. In August, a second unsigned paper accused the Air Force of having greatly exaggerated the importance of strategic air warfare. The charges of corruption and favoritism were investigated by the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives, and were quickly proven false. On Aug. 25, 1949, the investigation closed, after clearing the Air Force and Convair.
Fifth possible cancellation:
However, hearings on the B-36 resumed in October. Briefly stated, the committee had to decide, at least for the time being, whether the nation should rely on massive retaliation with intercontinental bombers in case of attack, or depend upon the Navy’s fleet and air arm, to defend the North American continent. Even though there were doubts about the B-36’s ability to evade enemy fighters, the Air Force emerged triumphantly from the October hearings.
This direct challenge to the B-36, done in a very public national debate, resulted in the bomber being vindicated. The B-36 program was retained and AF avoided cancellation for the fifth time.
Convair B-36: A Comprehensive History of America’s “Big Stick” is published by Schiffer Publishing and is available to order here.
Jay Lacklen is a retired Air Force reserve pilot with 12,000 military flying hours. He grew up in Arlington, VA, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel in 1969. He entered service in 1970 and retired in 2004 as a Lt Col with 12,500 flying hours. Lacklen taught Air Force T-1 pilot training simulators at Columbus AFB, Mississippi from 2005-2014. He grew up in Arlington, VA and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1969. In addition to pilot training aircraft, he flew 330 hours in the C-7 Caribou, 2000 hours in the B-52 bomber, and 9,500 hours in the C-5 Galaxy transport.
He flew in all major military actions from Vietnam to the Iraq War. Lacklen lives in northern Virginia and is married with four adult daughters and two granddaughters.
At the end of May, the B-52 Arc Light mission ended as the final three-ship cell, with our crew in the lead, departed U-Tapao. For many years, SAC crew members had joked about “putting out the Arc Light for good,” and here we were about to do just that. I had only flown two actual Arc Light bombing missions in 1973, and the rest of the crew had flown none, but we got to put out the “Light” for the thousands of crewmen who had flown the tens of thousands of hours over the previous ten years. They had done the heavy lifting; we had done little for the time we were at U-Tapao, but we got to take it home for good.
We would fly in cell formation until we reached the coast of California, then “two” and “three” would leave the formation to land at March AFB, CA, and we would continue on as a single ship to Carswell AFB, TX, a sixteen-hour mission.
Indignity
We had an indignity to suffer before takeoff, however. The staff told us to report an hour early so we could string up a room full of rattan furniture in the bomb bay to deliver to the deputy commander for operations at Carswell. This did not sit well. We faced a tortuously long mission without any extra duties, and this was an absolutely unnecessary task. No doubt one of the commanders at U-Tapao garnered a significant kudo for shipping the colonel’s furniture for free, but we were the ones providing the service. We hoped to be required to cycle the bomb bay doors en route over the Pacific, one final rattan bomb run.
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(On a similar mission during Gulf War 1 in 1990, I had to personally deliver two live lobsters sent by General Colin Powell from Massachusetts to General Norman Schwarzkopf in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Getting them there alive was my assigned mission. I await my grandkids asking what I did during the war. Why, I babysat two lobsters!)
When the time came, the three B-52s sat behind the runway hold line awaiting permission for the final B-52 takeoff from U-Tapao. Then tower cleared us for takeoff. On interplane frequency, I said, “OK, guys, let’s take our Buffs and go home,” and with that we took off. As we climbed out the Gulf of Siam, U-Tapao fell silent for the first time in a decade and would largely remain that way.
Interesting things
At cruise over the Philippine Sea at 42,000 feet, two interesting things happened. First, a jet contrail passed over us. This was unusual because we were already at our max altitude over eight miles high, and the other contrail was so far above us I couldn’t see the aircraft. I decided it must be a U-2 or SR-71 spy plane because I didn’t expect to encounter any aircraft higher than we were, much less so far above us I would be unable to see it.
Next, a U.S. Navy ship broadcast on guard channel asking if any American military aircraft were in the area. We answered that we were, and he asked if we could go “cipher” mode, or the scrambled, secret mode on one of our radios. The ship said they had an unknown target apparently shadow them and asked if we could drop down and take a look. I said I’d have to get permission to do so because I couldn’t make my destination if I used the extra gas to chase a shadow.
Shortly thereafter, the ship said they had resolved the issue and we wouldn’t be needed. I thought, briefly, we might find an excuse to cycle the bomb bay doors to rain rattan on the mysterious shadow, but it was not to be. The Carswell colonel would get his damn furniture. As the final indignity, neither colonel met us at either end to thank us for our efforts.
Several former engineers who worked on the Mach 3+ Spy Plane were contacted by NASA as the agency is looking for their help with a possible return-to-flight project.
Former US Air Force (USAF) and NASA test engineer Mike Relja was reached out by David Ash, a former US Navy and Joby test pilot, to help with the effort. Now in his late 70s, Relja was surprised when NASA contacted him about the project he told Aviation Week.
“I told the guy, ‘You know, I’m too old to be doing this. I wish you well. I’d like to see you make it. It would be interesting. But I just don’t think you can get there from here,” Relja explained.
SR-71A Tail No. 844 is the Blackbird at the centre of the effort. Since her last flight, the HABU (as the SR-71 is dubbed by her aircrews) has been sitting on display at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), California.
Aviation Week obtained commercial satellite images that showed that the spy plane was removed from its display pole sometime before April this year. The Blackbird was moved into the hangar that was once used for the Space Shuttle by NASA employees.
A NASA spokesperson told Aviation Week that the agency recognizes “the interest in the SR-71 and its remarkable history at NASA but have no additional information to share regarding the aircraft at this time.”
A new fleet of experimental X-planes
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke about NASA plans to build a new fleet of experimental X-planes at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles earlier in September where Isaacman showed an image of a new aircraft. As the image below shows, the new plane seemed to feature something in common with the Blackbird such as its tail design, engine areas and cockpit. Isaacman added that NASA would soon be flying as high and as fast as it had in the past, and then go beyond those limits.
Tail No. 844 has not flown for nearly 27 years and it would be difficult to operate since it could have water and sand inside it after spending so many years on display, Relja explained.
“I do know they’ve got people working on it. But again, without equipment, it’s beyond me what they’re doing,” he pointed out.
He also explained that even though the aircraft has two J58 engines and one spare engine under it, the J58 may not have been properly maintained or rotated for decades.
“When we were operational, if we had a spare engine, every 90 days we had to rotate the engine. Every 180 days, we had to run it to keep it as a ready spare. Now you’re talking about engines that have been sitting for 30-plus years,” Relja explained.
Problems
Moreover, in 2007 the USAF and NASA destroyed around $600 million worth of SR-71 spare parts so the supply of spare parts is another big problem. JP-7 fuel (a special type of fuel used only by the SR-71) would also be needed.
Besides these, the aircraft also needs triethylborane (TEB, a chemical used to start its engines) special engine oil and hydraulic fluids. Special carts were needed for several jobs Relja pointed out. “To get the engine out, you need a cart. You need equipment to pull the [engine] spikes, pull the [ejection] seat. All that stuff is gone.”
Nine SR-71s were flown to museums in the US and UK, hence their engines and other parts could be used for the project.
During the 1990s two SR-71 Blackbird aircraft were used by NASA as testbeds for high-speed and high-altitude aeronautical research at Dryden. The aircraft included an SR-71A and SR-71B (the trainer version), loaned to NASA by the US Air Force.
NASA SR-71s
During the 1990s two SR-71 Blackbird aircraft were used by NASA as testbeds for high-speed and high-altitude aeronautical research at Dryden. The aircraft included an SR-71A and SR-71B (the trainer version), loaned to NASA by the US Air Force.
The SR-71, the most advanced member of the Blackbird family that included the A-12 and YF-12, was designed by a team of Lockheed personnel led by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, then vice president of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company Projects, commonly known as the “Skunk Works” and now a part of Lockheed Martin Corp.
The Blackbird design originated in secrecy during the late 1950s with the A-12 reconnaissance aircraft that first flew in April 1962 and remained classified until 1976. President Lyndon Johnson publicly announced the existence of the YF-12A interceptor variant on Feb. 29, 1964, more than half a year after its maiden flight. The SR-71 completed its first flight on Dec. 22, 1964. More than a decade after their retirement the Blackbirds remain the world’s fastest and highest-flying production aircraft ever built.
The Blackbirds were designed to cruise at Mach 3.2, just over three times the speed of sound or more than 2,200 miles per hour and at altitudes up to 85,000 feet. The extreme operating environment in which they flew made the aircraft excellent platforms for conducting research and experiments in a variety of disciplines: aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, thermal protection materials, high-speed and high-temperature instrumentation, atmospheric studies, and sonic boom characterization.
SR-71 activities at Dryden were part of NASA’s overall high-speed aeronautical research program and involved other NASA research Centers, other government agencies, universities, and commercial firms.
Jay Lacklen is a retired Air Force reserve pilot with 12,000 military flying hours. He grew up in Arlington, VA, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel in 1969. He entered service in 1970 and retired in 2004 as a Lt Col with 12,500 flying hours. Lacklen taught Air Force T-1 pilot training simulators at Columbus AFB, Mississippi from 2005-2014. He grew up in Arlington, VA and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1969. In addition to pilot training aircraft, he flew 330 hours in the C-7 Caribou, 2000 hours in the B-52 bomber, and 9,500 hours in the C-5 Galaxy transport.
He flew in all major military actions from Vietnam to the Iraq War. Lacklen lives in northern Virginia and is married with four adult daughters and two granddaughters.
In November 1992, my Westover C-5 crew got “picked off” from our scheduled mission to fly another mission. The original mission was a standard Navy run to Rota, Spain; Sigonella, Italy; Bahrain; and return by the same bases to Westover.
When we alerted at Sigonella for our next leg, the command post offered us another mission. It seemed a Travis AFB active duty crew was in delay at Sig and their flight engineer was going non-current for a check ride and could not complete the mission. They asked if we would assume that mission instead of continuing our own.
C-5 mission around the world
The new mission would take us around the world, eastbound, through Pakistan, Australia, Samoa, and Hawaii. Had this been a crew with standard reservists, who needed to be home on time for their “real” jobs, we could not have taken the new mission. But this crew consisted of reserve bums (no other job) and ARTS. If I’d had a standard reservist crew, when asked if they would volunteer, they would have said “Hell, no!” But the bum/ART crew said “Hell, yes!” So around the world we would go. This would be my final mission hurrah at Westover.
The first leg would be a max crew-day body wrecker: Sig to Bahrain; to Islamabad, Pakistan; to Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean. We took off late in the afternoon from Sig, quick-turned Bahrain for fuel around midnight, and arrived overhead Islamabad just before sunrise.
I hoped for daylight because we would be within 20 miles or so of the Himalayan mountain chain and its 20,000-foot peaks. I didn’t want to fool around in the dark at an unfamiliar field with towering mountain peaks. Thankfully, the early predawn light allowed us to see the mountain outlines as we began our steep penetration to the field.
Our approach went routinely until we departed the final approach fix. I then saw as bizarre a sight as T have ever seen. In the dim predawn light, a heavy smoke fog rose from dozens of individual chimneys used to make bricks. These were apparently personal kilns for small family-run brick businesses, and even in the dim light I could see smoke rising that gave the area the look of an industrial ecological disaster, a dark sooty landscape that might have appeared similar to thermal vents on some alien planet inhospitable to humans.
Typical military outpost
In another surprise, about an hour later, the sun rose above the mountains and revealed an entirely different view. The Pakistani air base seemed Mediterranean in its climate. Warm air from the south provided short-sleeved shirt weather, and colorful flower gardens surrounded by verdant grass covered the base campus. We could have been back in Sigonella.
The base seemed a typical military outpost; cadets marched in formation and uniformed Pakistani Air Force personnel went about their tasks as we do in the States. After this second quick turn, we took off in bright sunlight headed south down the Indus River valley to the Indian Ocean enroute to Diego Garcia, about five and a half hours south.
Again I found the unexpected while flying down the Indus Valley. The river’s shores were barren, as was the entire valley. At least the Nile had a ten-mile, or so, wide strip of green along the river, but the Indus had once. It seemed to run through a barren desert, a landscape unchanged by its presence.
I had stayed awake the entire mission thus far, almost 20 hours, and I was winding down hard as we approached the Indian Ocean. My two fellow pilots, Keith Guillotte and Craig Peters, had taken sleep breaks previously, so I told them they had the leg to Diego and I hit the bunk to sleep like a dead man.
The lights of Darwin
The other pilots rousted me out of my slumber cave in the forward bunk room prior to descent late in the afternoon on a sunny tropical day. After landing and getting our rooms, we visited a beachcomber style bar and grill that provided a marvelous view of the ocean waves breaking on the reef about a mile away, as picturesque a tropical view as I’ve seen. Unfortunately, that is about all there is to see on Diego.
Late the next afternoon, we alerted for the second leg of our eastward journey, about 2,500 nautical miles and six hours to Darwin on the north shore of Australia. We flew this segment almost totally at night, and rarely have I felt more alone in the universe, with no signs of land or humans for hours on end over the East Indian Ocean.
My only connection with civilization, the HF radio, made communications, as mentioned previously, sound as if I were calling Oceanic Control from Mars from my spaceship.
Finally, the lights of Darwin appeared far in the distance surrounded by nothing, the outback to the south and the Indian Ocean to the north. I’d report to you on Darwin except I saw almost none of it except base operations at the air field. We refueled, filed our flight plan and ate in about three hours. Then we launched south across the Australian continent for the three-hour flight to the isolated radar tracking station of Woomera, 300 miles north of the south coast port city of Adelaide. On the way we would pass almost directly over Alice Spring in the interior.
Southern Cross
Midway in our climb to FL 330, the earth below us went black with no signs of human habitation. The view remained this way for most of our cross-continent trek across the outback.
After a while at cruise, I sat alone as Keith and Craig slept. Checklists were complete and there was no chatter on interphone. I experienced silence and darkness for long stretches of time, except for the stars. The stars! I remembered the Crosby, Stills & Nash song “Southern Cross” and my promise to finally see this constellation mostly invisible from the Northern Hemisphere.
I didn’t really know what I was looking for—something the size of Orion or the Big Dipper? There was something of a moon lighting the sky so only bright stars shone brightly enough to be seen as I scanned the cosmos. After a few moments I looked up and there it was, a large four-point cross in the southern sky, four bright stars rising above me. I stared in awe at this symbol from heaven that southern mariners had used for thousands of years to guide them. This seemed a near-religious moment, and I felt as if I were in a celestial cathedral with a soaring needed to complete the moment.
Woomera wave
We landed in morning sunshine in Woomera for a stay of several days. On landing rollout, however, we got a “Det Fail” light on our annunciator panel telling us one or more of our 24 wheel brakes was free-wheeling and not providing any braking action. Sometimes this malfunction can be cured by adjusting the wheel hubs, but sometimes it cannot and more extensive maintenance is required. Except there was no maintenance in Woomera and such a fix might require a week or more to fly in from Travis AFB in California. We adjusted the hubs and hoped that would be sufficient, something we would not know until takeoff roll.
I had anticipated Woomera providing an outback showcase of the Australian interior, a hiking opportunity and photo bonanza. As soon as I exited the plane, however, I met the scourge that would hound us over the entire crew rest, leave us cowering inside buildings in self-defense and longing for an opportunity to leave this hell hole.
When outdoors we constantly employed what the locals term the “Woomera wave,” or a flapping arm motion in front of your face in a futile attempt to hold the creatures at bay. As the only targets for miles in any direction, we became the hunted prey for these outback denizens as they invaded Woomera in huge swarms. Being indoors provided some relief, although the pests had penetrated even this space to a minor extent. Outside excursions around the small town that covered only a few dozen acres were limited to the local bank to cash checks (debit cards were still ten years or so in the future) and grocery store.
Launch for Sydney
My one unrequired foray to the modest zoo on edge of town left me longing for a hat with mosquito netting. l employed a constant Woomera wave while quickly reviewing the caged kangaroos, koalas, kookaburras, and parrots before fleeing back to the hotel.
After a few days in this purgatory we launched for Sydney. At 60 knots on takeoff roll, the “Det Fail” light again illuminated – and no one said a word. Technically this would demand an abort call and termination of the takeoff, but that would mean perhaps a week in Woomera waiting for a maintenance team from the States to fix the problem. No way, Jose, we were leaving this place!
On landing roll at Richmond AFB in Sydney a few hours later the “Det Fail” light again illuminated and immediately all three of us shouted “Det fail light!” We told the station manager he’d have to fly in a Maintenance Recovery Team from the States to fix this gear malfunction. He said he had a C-141 due in the next day and could do that. Drat! The next day? However, when I called in the next day, the manager apologized profusely that Travis had sent the wrong parts! “Oh, no!” I replied, smiling. “Call us when you have the parts,” I continued. “We’ll be roaming Sydney until you do!”
This good fortune could not be fully exploited, however, because much of the crew, to include all three of us pilots, were coming down with head colds. This had been precipitated by several grueling crew days that impaired our immune systems and would crimp our forays around Sydney to allow us extra sleep time to fight the malady.
Pago Pago
We spent three days in Sydney, mostly nursing our head colds. What a waste, to finally get to Sydney and then get sick for most of the stay.
Our next trip segment promised to be exotic in a South Pacific manner, five hours to Pago Pago in American Samoa and about another five hours to Hickam AFB, Hawaii. We took off in early morning sunshine and stayed in it all the way to Hickam.
Pago Pago proved as marvelous as I anticipated, a small speck of green on an endless blue ocean, about twenty miles long east to west and ten miles wide north to south. The runway seems built on the ocean, as waves break almost on the edges of the concrete.
Just to the north the highest island peak rose 2145 feet above the Pago Pago harbor. That is about as much of the island as we saw. We spent our three-hour turn time in a large open-air thatch roofed arena where Samoan dancers performed for us.
We had to be on our way, unfortunately. My cold had gotten worse as it threatened to close my right ear’s Eustachian tube and cause an ear block on descent. I kept my sinus spray at the ready as we took off and climbed out to the north toward Hawaii, five hours away.
C-5 mission around the world: grounded in Hawaii
I knew from flight surgeon briefings and from experience not to use the nose spray on the way up. The air pressure in my inner ear would soon be greater than cabin pressure and would blow congestion out of the ear tube. About thirty minutes prior to descent I would use the spray and hope it dampened Eustachian tube inflammation and prevented the ear block. This rarely worked, however, because the spray only briefly passed by the Eustachian tube entry into the throat and had limited effect. And, sure enough, my right hear blocked on descent into Hickam.
However, this would be a relatively mild block that cleared a few minutes after landing. It did ground me for three days, something my squadron mates back at Westover found suspicious. Yeah, sure, you get yourself grounded in Hawaii, what a fairy tale! The other two pilots were also grounded for the same style head cold, so they provided me with cover.
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