Air Operations and Training

Historic footage and stills of aerial military operations including aircraft deployment, missions, and training exercises.

airshow hosted by MFA

airshow hosted by MFA

U.S. Army Sgt. Patrick Modesitt, a flight medic for the Colorado National Guard's 2d Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, lowers to the ground while performing his combat hoist during training from their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Aug. 9 in Herat province, Afghanistan. The training prepares the crew for any conditions they might come across in retrieving any Special Operations Task Force (SOFT) West personnel needing medical attention in Herat province. The crew is on standby 24 hours a day for day and night operations.

221017-N-DB801-0345ATLANTIC OCEAN - (Oct. 17, 2022) - The Skyways V2.6 unmanned aerial system flies pass the Spearhead-Class expeditionary fast transport vessel USNS Burlington (T-EPF-10) autonomously amongst onlookers from the Scientists-to-Sea program underway during the Navys Fleet Experimentation Program (FLEX), Oct. 17, 2022. FLEX aims to test various unmanned aerial and surface systems in order to strengthen and increase warfighter capabilities.

U.S. Senior Airman Amalia Rosa, 6th Air Refueling Squadron KC-10A Extender boom operator, controls a KC-10 Boom during a flyover at the California Capital Airshow at Mather Airport in Sacramento, California, Oct. 1, 2022. Airmen assigned to the 6th ARS represented Team Travis in a Parade of Heavies flyover during the California Capital Airshow at Mather Airport in Sacramento, California.

A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet begins to takeoff after a mobile aircraft arresting system certification test at Northwest Field, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 6, 2024. Cope North 24 enables the joint and combined forces to improve the resilience and survivability of coalition airpower through integrated agile combat employment training. Air Force

The Norwegian Home Guard Rapid Response Force completes Situational Training Exercises (STX) with the Minnesota National Guard at Camp Ripley Training Center in Little Falls, Minnesota on February 11th, 2024. The STX events are a part of a culminating event during the 51st Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange between the Norwegian Home Guard and Minnesota National Guard (Minnesota Army National Guard

Search and Rescue Operations - 26-HK-260-24. Hurricane Katrina

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons sit on the flightline of the Ohio National Guards 180th Fighter Wing, in the early morning hours, during a large-scale readiness inspection, Aug. 8, 2022, at the base in Swanton, Ohio. The exercise was a full-scale assessment of the rapid generation and movement of personnel and equipment, utilizing a 24-hour operation concept. The wing was evaluated on its ability to pack, prepare and deploy mission-ready personnel, aircraft and support equipment, while operating in a contested and degraded environment.

Personnel with the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center geospatial integration office place markers on Pier Bravo on the Naval Weapons Station at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, Oct. 13, 2022. Contractors with Alfonsín, Glondys, and Anderson used a drone to make a digital map of Pier Bravo.

A pararescueman, deployed for Icelandic Air Policing, rappels down the side of a glacier May 18, 2014, during training near Keflavik, Iceland. Although the Airmans primary objective is to rescue downed aircrew deployed with the 48th Air Expeditionary Group, the trip provides an opportunity to accomplish training objectives the rescue team wouldnt ordinarily be able to complete near their home station of Kadena Air Base, Japan.

220421-N-SS350-1023 SAN DIEGO (April 21, 2022) Navy EOD technicians exit the back of a C-2A Greyhound, assigned to the Providers of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30, during a training jump run by Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit (EODTEU) 1, April 21, 2022. EODTEU-1 develops and provides realistic training to Navy EOD, and mobile diving and salvage forces to prepare them to support the fleet and joint force in accomplishing national objectives.

011018-F-8006R-004. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Base: Camp Freedom Country: Kuwait (KWT)

An aerial view of the base prior to completion of Project Tonedown, in which aircraft taxiways and runways will be camouflaged according to US Air Force Europe specifications. Base: Hahn Air Base Country: Federal Republic Of Germany (FRG)

France, Normandie, Arromanches-les-Bains, Basse-Normandie, Calvados. D-Day 75 Garden

Members of the 134th Air Refueling Wing works with civilian partners to prepare for the Smoky Mountain Air Show Sept. 8, 2022, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee. The two-day annual event provided the local community with a rare chance to see modern and historic aircraft up close and to meet military members.

Members of the 134th Air Refueling Wing works with civilian partners to prepare for the Smoky Mountain Air Show Sept. 8, 2022, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee. The two-day annual event provided the local community with a rare chance to see modern and historic aircraft up close and to meet military members.

220724-N-HH215-1003 SAN DIEGO (July 24, 2022) Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Merlyn Morales, left, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., and Aviation Support Equipment Technician 3rd Class Carlos Sanchez, a native of Los Angeles, Calif., prepare to conduct evening colors aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), July 24. Vinson is currently pierside in its homeport of San Diego.

DF-ST-85-11957. Subject Operation/Series: SALTY BEE Base: Zweibrucken Air Base Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)

Captain Blank Garrish, 344th Air Refueling Squadron KC-46A Pegasus pilot, takes off from a runway at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, in support of exercise RED FLAG-Alaska 22-1 May 10, 2022. Approximately 2,220 service members from three nations are participating to fly, maintain and support more than 90 aircraft from over 25 units during this iteration of the exercise. RF-A exercises are focused on improving the combat readiness of U.S. and international forces and providing training for units preparing for air and space expeditionary force tasking.

The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. NASA Astronaut Kelly, Russian Cosmonauts Skripochka and Kaleri are returning from almost six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 25 and 26 crews.

030214-F-9528H-023. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Country: Unknown

030421-F-9528H-018. Country: Unknown

Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, and volunteers from Samaritan's Purse work together to dristribute toys and books to Afghan Children, as a part of Operation Shoebox, in support of Operation Allies Welcome at Fort Pickett, Virginia on Jan. 1, 2022. The Department of Defense, through the U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan.

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan - Members from Pacific Commands Joint Communications Support Element set up a portable telecommunications system here, March 22. This telecommunications system, the Hawkeye III, will service a series of tents erected as additional workspaces in support of Operation Tomodachi.

Coast Guard Personnel - Miscellaneous - 26-HK-90-299. Coast Guardsmen dropping off water in grassy area near helo, civilians nearby. Hurricane Katrina

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4191-V111115119

An aerial view of facilities during a joint tactical information distribution system (JTIDS) training exercise. Base: Hurlburt Field State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jacob Grumich, 860th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron C-17 Globemaster III flying crew chief, alters the mirror on a school bus Sept. 23, 2022, at March Air Reserve Base, California. A Reserve aircrew from the 301st Airlift Squadron performed a three-day mission Sept. 23 - 25, to move humanitarian cargo to Haiti. Through the Denton Program, three school buses donated from San Diego Unified School District were transported from March ARB to Haiti.

U.S. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 fire a rocket at a target from a UH-1Y Venom during Resolute Dragon 22 at Yausubetsu Maneuver Area, Hokkaido, Japan, Oct. 7, 2022. Resolute Dragon 22 is an annual bilateral exercise designed to strengthen the defensive capabilities of the U.S.-Japan Alliance by exercising integrated command and control, targeting, combined arms, and maneuver across multiple domains.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III tactical aircraft maintainer attached to 204th Airlift Squadron conducts a post flight engine check on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 27, 2022. The C-17 carried two U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z viper helicopters assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 from Hawaii to Okinawa, Japan as part of a routine effort to rotate aircraft in and out of Japan to lower maintenance problems and to train interoperability with the heavy lift capabilities of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Justin J. Marty)

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Alejandro Garcia Jr., sergeant major, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268, Marine Aircraft Group 24, Marine Aircraft Group 24, carries the organizational colors during a change of command ceremony, Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 8, 2022. Lt. Col. Vanessa Clark relinquished command of VMM-268 to Lt. Col. Brandon Pope.

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