An Air Force Reserve Command F-16 crashed in the Florida straits about 75 miles south-southeast of Homestead ARB, Fla., around 11 a.m. on Monday. The pilot, assigned to AFRC’s 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead, ejected safely. The Sun Sentinel reports that the Viper experienced a “mechanical problem” before it crashed into the water, and the Coast Guard rescued the pilot who was in a life raft. The Air Force did not immediately identify the pilot.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3