March 24

What happened on March 24 in aviation and space history.

• March 24, 1999

  First combat use of the B-2 Spirit over Kosovo

  Milestone — In the early hours of 24 March 1999, two B-2 Spirits took off from Whiteman Air Force Base and struck targets in Serbia with GPS-Aided Munitions, opening Operation Allied Force over Kosovo. It was the type's first combat use and, with a round trip of more than 30 hours without shutting down the engines, the longest manned combat mission flown up to that point.

• March 24, 2014

  South Korea selects the F-35A for its F-X III programme

  Institutional — South Korea's defence procurement agency DAPA approved the purchase of forty F-35As, with an option on twenty more, closing the F-X III programme. The decision came after the country ruled out the Boeing F-15SE, which had been the only bidder within budget, on the grounds that it was not a fifth-generation aircraft. South Korea became the Lightning II's third foreign military sales customer.