The pilot of an F-16C aircraft that crashed into the waters off Kunsan AB, Korea March 14 failed to follow technical orders “in a timely manner” when his fighter’s flight control system malfunctioned, according to an account of the accident investigation report in Stars and Stripes. The investigation board found that the pilot, who was on a routine training flight, had two opportunities to prevent the crash but did not react quickly enough to prevent a third FCS malfunction. He ejected into the Yellow Sea, where rescue forces picked him up.
House lawmakers unveiled a new reconciliation package July 15 with $60 billion for defense, $290 billion less than the Pentagon has been seeking, a day after a Senate vote to advance the annual defense policy bill failed—developments that show the perilous state of the Pentagon’s ambitious plans for fiscal 2027.