A California Air National Guard F-16 crashed Friday morning during a routine training flight. The pilot from the 144th Fighter Wing at Fresno safely ejected. The day before on the other side of the country, a T-38 from the training wing at Columbus AFB, Miss., crashed about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. The student and instructor pilots both ejected safely.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.