It must be an especially sad day to send off your first F-16 to be upgraded for longer life, knowing that someone else will reap the benefits. Airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 944th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Ariz., last week sent off the first of their 17 Vipers to get upgraded under the Falcon STAR (Structural Augmentation Roadmap) program. It won’t be coming back and the other 16 will follow. BRAC 2005 ordered the wing’s F-16s to be dispersed to other Air Force units.
All of the U.S. military services are pursuing capabilities to complement GPS amid concerns that the constellation is increasingly vulnerable to interference, but a new government watchdog report calls for better coordination and prioritization among those efforts to avoid delays and duplication.
