First Lt. Michael Seltzer, an F-16 pilot recently returning from a five-hour mission over Iraq with two bombs still onboard discovered a problem with his fighter’s landing gear. His emergency checklist procedure failed to correct the problem as he circled, getting ever lower on fuel. The Viper pilot was in luck because a KC-135 crew already airborne had some fuel to spare, enabling Seltzer to tank up and head toward Southwest Asia’s largest lake, where he jettisoned his bombs. (Read more here from Air Force journalist SrA. Kerry Solan-Johnson.)
The Air Force's new Aircraft Readiness Unit will maintain and provide Collaborative Combat Aircraft for operations, but won’t serve as a “schoolhouse” teaching fighter pilots how to manage these escort drones.