February 02, 1974

Feb. 2, 1974
The first “official” flight of the YF-16 takes place with General Dynamics test pilot Phil Oestricher at the controls.

Related

Air Force Eyes New-Build F-16s to Boost Fighter Force

Sept. 16, 2026
The Air Force will consider acquiring new F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to answer capacity shortfalls in its aging fighter fleet, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. These discussions are happening as the Air Force is building its proposed fiscal 2028 budget and the five-year spending plan that goes…

Caine: US Must Prepare for Forces to Be ‘Tracked in Real Time’

Sept. 16, 2026
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said the U.S. needs to prepared for future conflicts in which its adversaries will be able to closely track the location of American forces and attack with autonomous systems that use artificial intelligence.

Space Development Agency Aims for Two More Launches This Year

Sept. 16, 2026
The Space Development Agency wants to wrap up its Tranche 1 launch campaign by the end of spring 2027, flying six more batches of satellites to build out its tracking and data transport constellations, according to Director Gurpartap Sandhoo.