The New York Air National Guard’s 174th Fighter Wing yesterday started its 18-month transition from the F-16 fighter to the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle with the departure of the first two F-16s for good from the wing’s home at Hancock Field ANG Base, near Syracuse. These F-16s are headed for a new assignment at Edwards AFB, Calif., and represent the beginning of the end of the 174th’s F-16 mission, according to a release by the New York State division of Military and Naval Affairs. Col. Charles Dorsey, the wing’s vice commander, said it was “bittersweet” to see the first F-16s go, as the unit has been flying Vipers since 1988. But added that the unit is “excited to open a new chapter of combat aviation” with the coming MQ-9 mission. More F-16s will depart Hancock as the transition progresses, and wing members are supposed to begin training with MQ-9s in 2010. Nearly 200 of the wing’s airmen and 14 of its F-16s returned home in August from the unit’s eighth and final rotational deployment to Southwest Asia with F-16s.
Details Murky as ARRW Falls Short in Second Test
March 24, 2023
The second all-up flight of the AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic missile apparently fell short of expectations, but the AIr Force isn't saying how, reporting only that the test met "several of the objectives" of the test. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control recently said he company is "ready to go" to…