An aerospace repair technician and a crew chief finish pre-flight inspections on a B-2 Spirit bomber at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam prior to a training mission for crew readiness and proficiency of global strike capability.

A 500lb GBU-12 loaded under the left wing of an F-16.

Armed with one GBU-49 and a rack of four GBU-39/B SDBs, this F-16 heads for the skies of Iraq.

Final preparations on two GBU-12 laser-guided bombs by an ammunition crew member. During the 21-month tour ATFME dropped weapons 1,800 times during 2,100 missions.

Two F-16s taxi from the last check point each carrying a different weapon payload; the aircraft nearest the camera is loaded with two 500lb GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and the aircraft in the rear is carrying a single GBU-49.

F-16AM J-624 takes off for a close air support mission loaded with an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, a single GBU-38 JDAM under the right wing and at least one GBU-12 laser-guided bomb under the left wing.

An F-16 pilot awaits a radio call to taxi toward the last check area where ammunition pins are removed and final checks are carried out before take-off.

Because the F-16s could not operate from the existing shelters on site, ATFME personnel built six half-open shelters.

A F-16 pilot conducts a pre-flight inspection of the four-place pneumatic rack loaded with four GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb glide weapons.

Two ATFME F-16AMs taxi to the runway for a CAS mission over Iraq.

The PC-21 phase does not just include live flying, but also computer-based training and simulator sessions, seen here.

Lieutenant General Brad Webb, Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command has considered the potential for a follow-on buy of CV-22 Ospreys to replace attrition. The CV-22 Osprey has become the workhorse of the AFSOC fleet since it achieved initial operational capability in March 2009.

The culmination of pilot selection for the Schweizer Luftwaffe is a six-week stage flying 13 missions on the PC-7.

Each year, the Schweizer Luftwaffe screens 350 candidates, around 250 of whom will attend SPHAIR.

Students streamed for fixed-wing training spend 200 flight hours and 20 simulator hours on the PC-7 before moving on to the PC-21.

An armament system technician, performs a 60-day weapon check-out on an F-15E Strike Eagle. The future of the type is of concern for General Hawk Carlisle, Commander of Air Combat Command.

Rotary-wing students spend two years undertaking basic and advanced training on the EC635, which comprises 400 flight hours and 30 hours on the simulator.