Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16 pilot, Lt. Col. David Serage flew his 100th combat sortie earlier this month during a mission over Baghdad. The Air Force Academy graduate has 19 years in active and Air Guard service, including flying B-52 bombers and, in the joint Navy-Air Force suppression of enemy air defense mission, EA-6B Prowlers. Serage left active service in 1999, joining the Air Guard’s 138th Fighter Wing and flying some of his first F-16 missions during Operation Southern Watch, the no-fly zone operation over southern Iraq. (Joint Base Balad report by SSgt. Don Branum)
The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is behind schedule and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon.