Two fighters participating in the current Red Flag Alaska collided in mid-air, sending one crashing into a rural area and the other limping back to Eielson AFB, Alaska, the host site for the Red Flag exercise. An F-15C from Langley AFB, Va., crashed after its pilot ejected safely, while the other fighter, an F-16C from the 64th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., suffered some damage but made it back to Eielson.
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