Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
So where is the United States Air Force headed? Aircraft in the Cold War Gallery give a picture as to what the future of the Air Force will look like. The B-2, although it has been around for several years, represents how precision, stealth aircraft is being efficiently used today. The museum’s B-2 is the world’s only permanent public display of this type of aircraft. The bomber on display......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
In response to the September 11 attacks, Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in Afghanistan. Less than two years later, Operation Iraqi Freedom began in Iraq. With these conflicts still in progress, the museum gives visitors a glimpse into the life of airmen serving in Southwest Asia. Be sure to explore the Warrior Airmen exhibit located in the Cold War Gallery which depicts airmen who......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, were another defining moment in American history. When terrorists hijacked commercial planes to crash into the World Trade Center towers in New York followed by an attack at the Pentagon and a crash in a field in Pennsylvania, the military realized that a new era of warfare had begun. Operation Noble Eagle began on September 11, 2001, to defend the United States......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
While the 1990s marked the end of the Cold War, a new chapter in Air Force history began to develop. There were the conflicts in the Middle East and also in the Balkans. With the collapse of communism in Yugoslavia, nationalism led to civil war and the horrors of "ethnic cleansing." When Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia, the Serbians fought to......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
In August 1990, Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, sent divisions of Iraq’s army into Kuwait. They quickly overwhelmed the small country and Hussein soon declared it part of Iraq. In the meantime, when Iraq’s leader ordered troops to begin massing along the Saudi Arabian border, several Middle East countries called for help. Operation Desert Shield, the name given to the U.S. military’s......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
From the beginning to the end of the Cold War the city of Berlin was the focal point of tensions between Western democracies and Soviet communism. In 1961, the communists erected a heavily fortified wall, dividing Berlin in two. However, in 1989, communist governments across eastern Europe collapsed, and on Nov. 9, the East German government partially opened the border in Berlin. A flood of......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
How could the United States efficiently and effectively move ballistic missiles during the Cold War? How could troops and equipment move quickly around the world? The answer was simple: airlift. One example of a large-capacity strategic cargo aircraft is the C-133A Cargo Master on display. This turboprop-powered airlifter handled a wide variety of military cargo. It could transport ballistic......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
To meet the threat of Soviet bombers, the United States needed the ability to locate, intercept and destroy enemy aircraft by day or night under all types of weather conditions. The F-89J could do just that. This all-weather fighter-interceptor of the Air Defense Command was the first to launch an air-to-air rocket with a nuclear warhead. Soon after, however, the Air Force began phasing out......
