Air Force officials at Luke AFB, Ariz., confirmed during a Saturday afternoon press conference that the pilot of the F-16 that crashed in the rugged mountains about 80 miles west of Phoenix was found dead in a ravine near the aircraft wreckage. The Air Force was still withholding the name, but the Arizona Republic reports that officials said the pilot was a 26-year-old man who was about two months into the eight-month advanced flight training course. The Republic also reports that the mishap pilot was engaged in a mock dogfight with an instructor pilot when his F-16 crashed. Officials were uncertain Saturday whether he had attempted to ejects. His parachute was found near the wreckage. Search and rescue crews did not discover his body until Saturday morning.
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…
