An F-16 Viper taking off on a training mission out of Luke AFB, Ariz., crashed near Phoenix Tuesday at 9:51 a.m., according to Air Force officials. The pilot, Capt. Jason Attaway, 26, of Dallas, ejected safely. Attaway, with the 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke, had just taken off for a routine training flight and, within two miles of Luke, the F-16 crashed.
Pentagon officials overseeing homeland counter-drone strategy told lawmakers that even with preliminary moves to bolster U.S. base defenses, the military still lacks the capability to comprehensively identify, track, and engage hostile drones like those that breached the airspace of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days in December…