A group of 250 airmen and 14 F-16 Viper aircraft from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, are in Romania for a three-week multilateral exercise that will give airmen the chance to practice low flying skills, reports Stars and Stripes. The event marks a double treat for the Spang Viper pilots. It’s the first time USAF F-16 pilots have trained in Romania, and the Spang airmen will get to fly well below their customary 1,000-foot bottom out. In Romania, they can fly down to 500 feet during exercise Viper Lance 2006, where they will meet up with the Romanian Air Force’s MiG-21s.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
