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Grand Forks AFB commemorates 50 years of record setting achievements
An F-15EX Eagle II assigned to the 53rd Wing at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Fla., recently arrived at Grand Forks AFB, N.D., to join two other record-breaking airframes in a ceremony for on-base and local community personnel.
The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the record-breaking F-15A Streak Eagle, which broke eight “time-to-climb” world records here, between Jan. 16 to Feb 1, 1975, as part of Project Streak Eagle.
The Streak Eagle was not the final record-breaking airframe to grace the airfield of Grand Forks AFB.
A B-1B Lancer achieved a record-breaking speed of 599.59 mph, while flying from here to Monroeville, A.L. and to Mullan, I.D. The Lancer also broke 12 time-to-climb records Jul. 25, 1975.
The 319th Operations Group is the only unit in the Air Force operating the RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40 high altitude, long endurance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft from here; the 7th Reconnaissance Squadron at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy and the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron at Andersen AFB, Guam. The RQ-4 unofficially broke the airframe record for longest continuous flight while piloted by aircrew with the 348th Reconnaissance Squadron, here, after clocking 34.8 hours aloft on May 16, 2024.
“These aircraft went above and beyond their intended missions thanks to their pilots and the masterful preparations made by the maintainers and engineers,” said Col. Bishane Whitmore, 319th Reconnaissance Wing deputy commander, in Senior Airman Anthony Nunez-Pellicer, 319th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs, in the article Grand Forks AFB commemorates 50 years of record setting achievements. “Their efforts have paved the path to the future, through multiple generations of pilots, crews and even the aircraft themselves which have gone through several models and upgrades.”
Grand Forks AFB, three aircraft, 50 years of record achievements
Together, all three aircraft span over 100 collective years of air superiority and excellence across the US Air Force with Grand Forks AFB providing a pivotal staging area for each one to build their legacy.
With the B-1B Lancer temporary relocation from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, underway the opportunity to have all three air frames together on the airfield they set their records from for the first time.
The B-1’s temporary relocation also resonates personally with the 319th RW’s deputy commander, a former Lancer weapons officer.
“The B-1 is actually very special, because it’s the first aircraft I ever flew in, in my career,” said Whitmore. “Seeing it here again is very moving for me. The B-1 was only at this base for a very short time but even with such a small timeframe it still achieved so much and broke records all the way up until they left.”
The aircrew visiting from Eglin AFB, and members of the 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 28th Bomb Wing facilitated tours for the on- and off-base communities of Grand Forks AFB to view the Eagle II, Global Hawk and Lancer up close.
F-15EX
The Eagle II concluded its visit with an unrestricted climb upon departure, ascending to 50,000 ft in under a minute, and delivering a blazing farewell to the base.
Delivering best-in-class payload, range and speed, the F-15EX will serve as a backbone for any tactical fighter fleet – today and into the future.
Building upon a legacy of air dominance, the F-15EX combines its undefeated combat record with state-of-the-art design and technology to deliver next-generation capabilities that push it squarely into the future of combat.
With a payload capacity of 29,500 lbs. (13,300 kg) – including outsized weapons – the F-15EX delivers affordable mass to address rapidly evolving threats. When this payload is combined with range, contemporary sensors and an advanced electronic warfare suite, the F-15EX presents peer adversaries with multiple challenges both inside and outside of threat rings.
Incorporating the latest in software development, digital engineering and Open Mission Systems architecture, the F-15EX is a digital pathfinder for more rapid, affordable future fighter aircraft development.
Representing the DoD’s first full-rate production program to implement Full Sized Determinant Assembly (FSDA), Boeing’s F-15EX enables rapid modernization to keep pace with adversary and technological maturation while also facilitating national sovereignty development by global allies.
RQ-4
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft with an integrated sensor suite that provides global all-weather, day or night intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability. Global Hawk’s mission is to provide a broad spectrum of ISR collection capability to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and wartime operations. The Global Hawk provides persistent near-real-time coverage using imagery intelligence (IMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT) and moving target indicator (MTI) sensors.
In the RQ-4 name, the “R” is the Department of Defense designation for reconnaissance and “Q” means unmanned aircraft system. The “4” refers to the series of purpose-built remotely piloted aircraft systems.
The Global Hawk is operated by the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, California, and the 348th Reconnaissance Squadron at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, but aircraft are rotated to operational detachments worldwide.
B-1B
Carrying the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force. It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time.
The B-1B holds almost 50 world records for speed, payload, range, and time of climb in its class. The National Aeronautic Association recognized the B-1B for completing one of the 10 most memorable record flights for 1994. The most recent records were made official in 2004.
Photo credit: Senior Airman Anthony Nunez-Pellicer / U.S. Air Force
