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.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.