The MiG-29 prototype (NATO reporting name “Fulcrum”) makes its first flight. The MiG-29 is the second of a new generation of Soviet fighters (along with the Su-27) to compete with, respectively, the US F-16 and F-15. More than 800 aircraft have been built, and as of 2003, the aircraft is still in limited production and the more than 20 countries flying the MiG-29 are in the process of updating their fleets. MiG-29s are now flown by the air arms of two NATO members, Germany and Poland.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
