Pilot Missing After F-16 Crash, Saturday Update: An F-16 assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Ariz., crashed Friday about noon some 50 miles northwest of Wickenburg in the Buckskin Mountains, reports the Arizona Republic. According to an initial USAF statement, the pilot, whose name is being withheld, was on an air-to-air training mission. Saturday: In a subsequent statement, USAF said the F-16 wreckage had been spotted about 10:30 p.m. Friday night in a remote area and rugged terrain. A helicopter took a search and rescue party in to the site. SAR actions continued through the night and into Saturday, but there was no word on the pilot.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…