The instructor pilot and student pilot flying an F-16 from Luke AFB, Ariz., ejected safely from the fighter before it crashed Dec. 4 on the Barry Goldwater Range. The Air Force is investigating the accident.
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.