To extend the range of the aircraft and reach more remote targets, the CIA approached the Navy proposing to develop the ability to launch and land U-2s from carriers. Project Whale Tale began on an August morning in 1963, when test pilot Bob Schumacher took off with his U-2 from …
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Near the end of the Cold War, in an operation that seems made for a major Hollywood movie, a U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy transport plane discreetly flew U.S. Army special operators (Night Stalkers) and a pair of MH-47D Chinooks from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment to the African …
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In 1958, the Central Intelligence Agency started sponsoring a program known as Diamond Lil, in which Chinese Nationalist pilots were trained to fly Martin RB-57D Canberra high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Six Black Cat Squadron Taiwanese pilots were trained on the B-57C at Laughlin AFB, Texas, arriving back in Taiwan, and two …
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In March 1986, U.S. Navy aviators out-flew, out-maneuvered and jammed the Libyan Arab Air Force so badly that the Libyans stopped flying their interceptors over the Gulf of Sidra. As a result, Tripoli had to give up its claim on this part of the Mediterranean. Equally damaging, the lack of …
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