USAF F-16 Crashes in Iraq:

Nov. 27, 2006

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

US Central Command Air Forces reports that a US Air Force F-16CG crashed about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad this morning. The fighter was supporting ground forces at the time. There is as yet no official word on the cause of the crash. Reuters news service reports that local residents say US forces immediately surrounded the crash site.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

F-22 Pilots Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for Actions During Midnight Hammer

Air Force Adjusting Plan for Maintenance Career Overhaul from Just 7 AFSCs to 14

Air Force Names 7 to Vie for New MMA Drone Program

Hegseth Unveils New Autonomous Warfare Command in ‘State of the Force’ Address

Related

Air Force and Space Force Shooting for Historic Recruiting Goals in 2027

Oct. 2, 2026
The Air Force adjusted its fiscal 2026 recruiting goal down by a few hundred enlisted Airmen due to higher-than-expected retention and the number of available training slots—but it is aiming high in fiscal 2027 with its biggest goal for the Active-Duty Air Force in nearly 25 years, and the Space…

Lawmakers Push for Bipartisan Solution to Golden Dome’s Funding Crunch

Oct. 2, 2026
Some lawmakers in the Senate are advocating for a more bipartisan approach to paying for the Pentagon’s $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense project, arguing that the effort’s goal of bolstering homeland defenses has support across ideological lines but the process for funding it has been politically charged—leaving the program’s…

F-22 Pilots Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for Actions During Midnight Hammer

Oct. 2, 2026
Seven F-22 Raptor pilots have recently been awarded one of the military’s highest decorations for their actions during operations in the Middle East. Six of the pilots were decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Air Force Adjusting Plan for Maintenance Career Overhaul from Just 7 AFSCs to 14

Oct. 1, 2026
The Air Force will officially kick off a major overhaul of maintenance career field next year with a pilot program, but the plan for the revamp is still evolving—while officials once intended to condense 50 aircraft maintenance specialties down to just seven, now they are targeting 14 Air Force Specialty…

Airborne T-7 Links Up with Simulators in Air Force First

Oct. 1, 2026
Three T-7A Red Hawk trainer jets flew together at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, on Sept. 16—one physical aircraft in the air and two virtual ones controlled from simulators on the ground, all sharing one common operating picture.