A half dozen Texas Air National Guard F-16Cs flew to Chile for international exercise Salitre alongside air forces from four South American countries at Cerro Moreno AB, Chile. “This exercise provides an opportunity to strengthen our military-to-military relationships with regional partners,” said exercise co-director Col. Mike Torrealday in a release. The Texas ANG is paired with the Chilean air force under the Guard’s State Partnership Program and 149th Fighter Wing F-16s participated in a mini-exchange as part of the country’s largest air show earlier this year. International aircraft flying in the exercise include Argentine A-4 Skyhawks, Brazilian F-5E Tiger IIs and C-130s, Chilean F-16s, and Uruguayan A-37 Dragonflies, according to the exercise homepage. Approximately 80 pilots, maintainers, and support personnel from the 149th Fighter Wing at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, supported by a single Ohio ANG KC-135 deployed for the exercise Oct. 4-18, according to the release. (See also The Guard Partnerships from the October issue of Air Force Magazine.)
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
