A pair of F-16Cs assigned to the Oklahoma Air National Guard’s 138th Fighter Wing collided around 2:30 p.m. Monday during a training sortie near Moline, Kansas, forcing one of the pilots to eject, according to an Oct. 21 release. The pilot who ejected was taken to the hospital at McConnell AFB, Kan., for medical evaluation and has since been released. The second pilot safely recovered the other F-16 involved in the mishap and flew the fighter back to the unit’s base in Tulsa. Neither aviator was seriously injured in the accident, wing officials announced. Members of the 138th Maintenance Group, also based in Tulsa, Okla., “are assessing the damage to the aircraft that landed there,” states the release. Two F-16Cs assigned to the District of Columbia ANG collided in a similar accident off the coast of Virginia last August. Investigators latter attributed that accident to pilot error. Air Force investigators will probe the Oct. 20 incident and publish further details after the conclusion of a formal accident investigation board.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.