The Thunderbirds plan
to continue their aerial demonstration schedule. After reviewing safety procedures following the Aug. 20 incident in Chicago in which two of the team’s F-16s touched wingtips while in flight, dropping a missile rail from one Viper into Lake Michigan, per an Associated Press report, the T-Birds decided the group did not need to alter its routine. The team had cancelled its Sunday show in Chicago but now plans to fly this weekend in Westfield, Mass.
The Air Force will finish restructuring the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program by the end of this year, achieve its first test launch of the ICBM by 2027, and reach initial operational capability by the early 2030s.



