The Messerschmitt Bf-109a fighter prototype makes its first flight at Augsburg, Germany. More than 32,000 Bf-109s will be built (including post-war versions in Spain and Czechoslovakia) in a multitude of versions, making it the second most produced aircraft of all time. (Most produced: Ilyushin II-2; see entry for Dec. 30, 1939.)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…


