The Air Force announced Monday that 2nd Lt. David J. Mitchell, 26, of Amherst, Ohio, was the pilot killed in the March 14 crash (see below) of an F-16 from Luke AFB, Ariz. Mitchell, who was from the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing in Toledo, arrived at Luke last November to begin the base’s Basic Course Fighter Training program, which trains both active and reserve pilots. He had a total of 237 flying hours, with about 26 in the F-16.
As the threat of Iranian-made drones grew, the Air Force rushed last year to equip F-15E Strike Eagles in the Middle East with a cheap, cost-effective way of defeating them. The service fielded the new capability in roughly a week.
