33 Of The Most Spectacular Photos Of The US Air Force Ever Captured
A member of the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron climbs into a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter during open ocean operations.
Aircrew members admire their MC-130E Combat Talon during the plane's final flight before retirement. The last five MC-130s in the Air Force belong to the 919th Special Operations Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
A C-17 Globemaster III crew prepares an air refueling mission on Sept. 27, 2012, at Joint Base Charleston, SC.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress from the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., leads a formation.
A member of the Air Force Special Operations Command’s Special Tactics Training Squadron strains while lifting weights during a strength and conditioning session at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Staff Segeant Welby Ramos, a combat controller with the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., watches as other members of his team land after parachuting 13,000 feet for training.
An F-35 Lightning II completes a series of night flights, testing the pilot's ability to fly the jet safely in instrument meteorological conditions where the pilot has no external visibility references.
Airmen assigned to the U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Training Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., train during a pre-scuba course.
An F-22 Raptor backs away from a KC-135 Stratotanker during a training mission over central New Mexico. The Raptor is assigned to the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, NM., and the KC-135 is from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.
Senior Airman Justin Gordon completes a static line jump at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
Paul Kuntne tries to dive down as he uses a snuba system off the coast of Roatan, Honduras on December 25, 2012. Snuba is an underwater breathing system in which air comes through a long hose from tanks on pontoon rafts on the surface of the water.
The Thunderbirds Diamond Formation performs a pass in review maneuver during a training sortie over a range in Nevada.
A B-2 Spirit flies over St. Louis's Gateway Arch.
Utah Air National Guard Airmen conduct air refueling operations with a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Wash., over southern Idaho. The Airmen are assigned to the 151st Air Refueling Wing at Salt Lake City Air National Guard Base, Utah, and support air operations across the western United States.
USAF aircraft of the 4th Fighter Wing (F-16, F-15C and F-15E) fly over Kuwaiti oil fires, set by the retreating Iraqi army during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Airmen from the 375th Air Mobility Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., present a giant American flag for nearly 50,000 fans at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.
F-16 Fighting Falcons taxi down the flightline at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea.
Members of the 191st Air Refueling Squadron conduct refueling operations with a C-17 Globemaster III from Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Wash. Airmen from the 191st ARS routinely support air operations across the western United States from their home station in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Rows of F-4 Phantoms and T-38 Talons line the grounds of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, also known as the "Boneyard," at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
Senior Airman Larry Webster scans for potential threats using night vision goggles after completing a cargo airdrop in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. Webster is a loadmaster assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.
A group of Navy Search and Rescue swimmers wait in the chilly waters of Coronado Bay, San Diego, Calif., on March 15, 2012.
Maintenance personnel prepare F-16 Fighting Falcons for training flights at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea.
Tech. Sgt. Andrew Gravett walks along the top of a C-17 Globemaster III as he does a routine maintenance check at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. The first C-17 to enter the Air Force’s inventory arrived at Charleston Air Force Base in June 1993.
Lt. Col. Benjamin Bishop completes preflight checks before his first sortie in an F-35A Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
Airman 1st Class Christian Mejia and Staff Sergeant Duron Arnold, 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Fly Away Security Team members perform a security check around a disabled C-130 Hercules aircraft at Forward Operating Base Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan, on June 6, 2013.
A small sea of fire retardant foam was unintentionally released in an aircraft hangar, temporarily covering a small portion of the flightline at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The non-hazardous foam is similar to dish soap, and eventually dissolved into liquid. Firefighters from the 60th Air Mobility Wing helped control the dispersion by using powerful fans and covering drains. No people or aircraft were harmed in the incident.
Airman 1st Class Wynthom Thomas communicates with pilots after their landing at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Seven C-130 Hercules flew in formation practicing airlift tactics and procedures.
The 3.67-meter telescope, known as the Advanced Electro-Optical System and owned by the Department of Defense, is the United States' largest optical telescope designed for tracking satellites.
Airmen from the 19th Airlift Wing prepare a C-130J Hercules for a flight at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. The 19th Wing’s responsibilities range from supplying humanitarian airlift relief to victims of disasters, to airdropping supplies and troops into the heart of contingency operations in hostile areas.
Six C-130 Hercules line up before flying a sortie during a readiness week at Yokota Air Base, Japan. The 374th Airlift Wing uses C-130s to support operations in the Pacific.
Tech. Sgt. Matthew Mensch exits a SC.7 Skyvan with a low profile parachute over the Edwards Farm drop zone, near Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The parachute is intended to replace the BA-22 parachute, which is currently configured for use in the AC-130 Gunship.
Firefighters from the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron extinguish a fire during a training exercise at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Two teams worked in unison to push the fire back without it reigniting behind them. The training exercise was one component of a base-wide operational readiness exercise.
Capt. Steve Ludwig flies over miles of mountainous terrain in search for a crashed plane on the Yakutat Glacier in Alaska. Ludwig is an HC-130N King co-pilot with the 211th Rescue Squadron.
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