Army Lt. Jacob Fickel fires a .30-caliber Springfield rifle at the ground while flying as a passenger in a Curtiss biplane over Sheepshead Bay Track near New York City. This is the first time a military firearm has been discharged from an airplane.
The Pentagon is requesting funds to buy 85 F-35s in its 2027 budget, 38 of them for the Air Force, a number that analysts say is not enough to reverse service’s fighter shortfall.
