The U.S. Air Force is now using F-16s to bolster its armed overwatch of oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region and deter Iran from trying to seize the vessels, U.S. officials say, joining A-10s that have already been flying patrols in the Gulf for ...
Without a large corrective investment, the Air Force’s aged fighter force will “collapse” soon due to its small size, lack of training in high-end warfare, low availability, and chronic shortage of pilots and maintainers, according to a new report from the Air & Space Forces ...
Air Force F-16 pilot Capt. Charles Boynton received the callsign ‘Atlas’ after overcoming cancer and a two-year battle with bureaucracy to return to the cockpit.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reinforced the need for America and its allies to maintain control of the skies in a conflict, top U.S. Army officials said June 23. “We’re going to have the ability to provide or assist in providing a no-sail zone, and ...
Western defense chiefs provided the most detailed public outline of their plans to remake Ukraine's air force with Western jets such as the F-16 on June 15. Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch Minister of Defense, explained portions of that plan. “We want to kickstart it first ...
The Biden administration’s long-awaited decision to support a European effort to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s is the first step in a long process to transform Ukraine's Soviet-style air force into a Western one. There is no debate that the F-16 will be a quantum leap ...
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 22 that Ukrainian pilots could learn to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon in a matter of months and the aircraft will be an important element of the nation’s future defense capability. “They’re very motivated,” Kendall said. “Everything we’ve ...
The Biden administration will support giving Ukraine modern, fourth-generation fighters, including F-16s, a senior administration official told Air & Space Forces Magazine May 19. President Joe Biden informed allies of the plan at a meeting of the G7 in Hiroshima, Japan, the official said. The ...
U.S. fighter jets intercepted six Russian warplanes off the coast of Alaska on May 11 while a large multinational U.S.-led military exercise was underway in the state, the U.S. military said. NORAD detected and intercepted a mix of Russian bombers, tankers, and fighters in the ...
The F-16s at Dannelly Field, Ala., are gone, save for a few receiving some final maintenance. The F-35s that will eventually fill out the 187th Fighter Wing won’t start arriving until December. But the next seven months will be anything but quiet for the Alabama Air National ...
The U.S. and Philippines air forces are reviving a combat training exercise after more than 30 years as both nations grapple with China’s growing military might. From May 1-12, American fighters will practice tactics with the Philippine air force in exercise Cope Thunder. The drills ...
F-15E Strike Eagles deployed to Kadena Air Base, Japan in April, joining F-35s to bolster the Air Force’s fighter fleet on the strategic island in the western Pacific. Meanwhile, the F-16CMs and F-22s that were previously forward deployed to Kadena have returned home, according to ...