USAF at 70

Since its establishment in September 1947, the United States Air Force (USAF) has played a significant role in many of the events that have shaped modern history. From the reassuring stream of cargo-lifters supplying the blockaded Berliners in 1948 to the on-going fight against terror - via the nuclear-capable bombers that deterred the Soviet Bloc from turning the Cold War ‘hot’ and repeated humanitarian missions in all corners of the globe – the aircraft and airmen of the USAF have never been far from international headlines. The air arm’s first seven decades have spanned the transition from piston-powered aircraft to the jet age, the advent of stealth technology, the success of the helicopter and the rise of unmanned aerial vehicles. Throughout that time the USAF has been at the forefront of technology and today it remains the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. In 2017 the USAF can muster almost 6,000 manned aircraft, more than 150 Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles, in excess of 2,000 Air-Launched Cruise Missiles and 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. At the heart of the organization are more than 300,000 active personnel and nearly 200,000 more reservists. This is our tribute to the men, machines, and ethos of the USAF in its 70th anniversary year.