An F-15C of the Missouri Air National Guard’s 131st Fighter Wing on a training sortie breaks apart in mid-air, prompting USAF to ground the entire F-15 fleet. (The pilot ejected, sustaining injuries.) Air Combat Command officials would call the incident a “catastrophic structural failure.” ACC lifted the grounding in December, but days later reinstated it for A-D models when a continuing review of the fleet showed more aircraft with longeron cracks. Younger F-15Es continued operations. ACC discovered nine F-15s it considered beyond saving. The command gradually returned the F-15A-D models to operational service, releasing the final 150 or so on Feb. 15, 2008.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
