A new country, culture, and a one-of-a-kind job await a Hill officer halfway around the world. Maj. James Hedges, 388th Fighter Wing F-16 pilot, departed the United States recently; his destination, the country of Jordan in the Middle East....

At a recent airshow in Venezuela, a FAVF-16 was shown equipped with a Litening pod - the Israeli counterpart of the Lantirn pods. Precision-guided munitions are also part of the deal and will arrive with the remainder of the Litening pods. ...

Turkey has decided to increase its Popeye precision-guided, long-range missile order from Israel from 100 to 200. The missiles can becarried by both Turkish F-16s and upgradedF-4s. ...

Six Diyarbakir-based F-16s jets hit suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in the remote Khwakurk region of Iraq on Monday 8 December. The air offensive is backed up by10, 000 Turkish troops who are joining the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party)and thousands of Turkish soldiers already campaigning against the PKK, which uses the area to strike into Turkey. "...

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Lockheed Martin wants to buy the state-owned Israeli Aircraft Industries. Lockheed Martin is particularly interested in IAI's ability to upgrade F-16 fighter jets, which the US firm manufactures. The president of the US company, Norman Augustine, expressed interest in purchasing the Israeli aerospace giant during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month. IAI has been struggling financially in recent years and due to a severe cash flow problem and may fall behind on upcoming salaries for 13, 500workers. ...

The 173rd Fighter Wing from Kingsley Field, near Klamath Falls, Oregon, has started sending its F-16s to the Boneyard. The unit will convert to the F-15. ...

Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems of Ft. Worth and Tracor Systems of Austin announced on Wednesday November 26th that they were teaming up to develop several drone aircraft, including a pilotless F-16. ...