Lt. Col. Dan Swayne surpassed 4,000 flight hours in the cockpit of the F-16 on Jan. 14 during a training mission. The feat makes the 42-year-old Swayne, deputy chief of standardization and evaluation for 9th Air Force at Shaw AFB, S.C., only the second Air Force active duty Viper pilot and 23rd F-16 pilot in the world to reach this milestone. “It reinforces I’m blessed with health, have a supportive family, and fly a great plane,” Swayne said of his achievement. He began flying the F-16 after completing undergraduate pilot training in 1988. He reached the 3,000-hour milestone six years ago. (USAF report by Capt. Amy Hutchisson)
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.