News Archive

December 2006


27 December 2006 216 modernization kits for Turkish F-16s
The U.S. government awarded a $635 million contract to Lockheed Martin for the upgrade of Turkey's fleet of F-16 fighter jets....
26 December 2006 Two F-16s that flew 9/11 to be displayed
One of three F-16s that patrolled the skies over Washington, D.C., during the 2001 terrorist attacks now headed to the McChord Air Force Base Museum in Washington state. ...
23 December 2006 79th FS returns home from Southwest Asia
Nearly 140 pilots, maintainers, crew chiefs and loaders from the 79th Fighter Squadron returned to Shaw AFB Dec. 19 from Exercise Iron Falcon 0701 in Southwest Asia....
23 December 2006 Misawa jets can resume training with dummy bombs
Officials from the 35th FW said they are confident F-16s at Misawa can safely resume use of the BDU-33 based on findings of a nearly two-week investigation into the accidental dropping of the 25-pound dummy bombs in two recent incidents....
22 December 2006 Greece placing order for weapons and work on F-16
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $931.3 million contract modification for work on 20 F-16C Block 50 aircraft and 10 F-16D Block 52 aircraft under the Peace Xenia IV program. This contract is additive to a February 2006 contract for $99.7 million....
22 December 2006 Robins AFB selected for software maintenance on F-22 Raptors
The Air Logistics Center's at Robins Air Force base will be the repair station for most of the software on the software-intensive F-22 Raptor, which contains about 2 million lines of code....
22 December 2006 Gripen N in the race for Future Fighter Replacement in Norway
While other international JSF partners signed the production phase MoU for the F-35, the Norwegian approvals to continue their involvement seem to slip into 2007, while it considers rival bids like the Gripen N....
21 December 2006 Small Diameter Bomb integration tests on F-16 started
Engineers at McDonnell Douglas are starting tests to integrate the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb on the block 30, 40, and 50 variants of the F-16 jet fighter, as well as on the F-22A fighter bomber....
20 December 2006 USMC and Navy JSF assembly reaches milestones
Northrop Grumman reported yesterday that the first center fuselage section for the Marine Corps variant of the F-35 joint strike fighter has been completed and that work began on the assembly of the first fuselage for the Navy. ...
20 December 2006 Spangdahlem Wing CC reaches 1,000 hour mark flying F-16
After flying fighters for more than 23 years, he said he cannot believe he is paid to do it. Col. Darryl Roberson, 52nd FW commander, reached 1,000 hours in the F-16 on Nov. 17, the third time he has reached this milestone in his Air Force career....
18 December 2006 SimiGon wins contract from Belgian Air Force for Air Combat Training
The Belgian Air Force has selected SimiGon's AirBook software, an all-inclusive flight simulation and training solution, for its desktop training program. ...
18 December 2006 Pilot error cause of F-16 accident near Spangdahlem
An investigation into September's F-16 crash near Spangdahlem Air Base has blamed the accident on pilot error....
18 December 2006 Tests to integrate Small Diameter Bomb on F-22, F-16 started
Engineers at the McDonnell Douglas subsidiary of the Boeing Co. in St. Louis are starting tests to integrate the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb on the U.S. Air Force F-22A fighter bomber, as well as on the F-16 block 30, 40, and 50....
15 December 2006 Turkey signs production phase MoU for the F-35
Turkey has approved a production agreement for the U.S.-led multinational effort to develop the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, following the lead of the Netherlands, Canada, Britain and Australia....
15 December 2006 F-35 Lightning II completes first flight
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II lifted into the skies today for the first time, completing a successful inaugural flight and initiating the most comprehensive flight test program in military aviation history....
13 December 2006 F-35 finishes all taxi testing, prepares for flight
The first Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II successfully completed all ground taxi tests today, among some of the last activities clearing the way for its inaugural flight. ...
13 December 2006 14th FS prepped for support role in Iraq
In the homestretch prior to going to war, Misawa's 14th Fighter Squadron is practicing missions more typical of a Warthog than a Falcon....
12 December 2006 Canada, Britain and Australia sign production agreement for F-35 fighter
Following the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, and Canada have now also signed an agreement committing to the next development and production phase of the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project....
11 December 2006 US Department of Defense Order Four C-130Js
Lockheed Martin has received an initial $128 million from the United States government as part of a $256.2 million contract for three C-130J-30 combat delivery aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and one KC-130J tanker for the Marine Corps....
10 December 2006 F-16s to fly at AeroIndia 2007
Lockheed Martin will for the first time let the F-16 perform at an Indian airshow hoping to impress Indian defence personnel and win the fighter jet deal. ...
10 December 2006 Dutch F-16 pilots to train at Springfield AB, Ohio
F-16 pilots for the Royal Netherlands Air Force will soon begin training in the U.S. at the Air National Guard base in Springfield, Ohio....
10 December 2006 Four more F-16s to be delivered to Poland
Four more F-16s are scheduled to arrive in Poland Dec. 14 as part of a second wave of a 48-aircraft delivery and a $3.8 billion program executed by Aeronautical Systems Center and the Air Force Security Assistance Center Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio....
09 December 2006 F-15 demo team transitions to F-22 demo team
The F-15 Eagle East Coast Demonstration Team, one of seven single-ship demonstration teams assigned to Air Combat Command, concluded 27 years of performance history Dec. 1. ...
08 December 2006 Misawa F-16s stop dropping dummy bombs
F-16 fighter jets at this northern Japan base have stopped dropping dummy bombs after a 25-pound inert munition fell off a jet Wednesday night as it landed....
08 December 2006 Danish F-16 pilot reaches 4,000 flying hours
Max "Max" Vilhelmsen, leader of the Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at Skrydstrup FSN, passed the 4,000-hour mark in the F-16 today during a training mission with F-15 Eagles from the 493rd FS currently at Skrydstrup. ...
08 December 2006 F-35 completes first ground taxi test
The F-35 Lightning II moved under its own power for the first time on Thursday afternoon, initiating the last series of tests before the fighter jet's first flight. ...
06 December 2006 First F-35 flight scheduled for next week
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is set to make its maiden test flight next week at Lockheed Martins Fort Worth, Texas, test site according to BGen David R. Heinz, deputy program executive officer of the F-35 Lightning II Program....
06 December 2006 Misawa F-16 drops concrete practice bomb on runway
A USAF F-16 of the 35th Fighter Wing based at Misawa AB, Japan, accidentally dropped a concrete practice bomb on a runway shared by civilian and military flights....
06 December 2006 Lockheed gets $144 million deal for Pakistan F-16s
The U.S. Air Force is awarding Lockheed Martin a $144.1 million contract for materials that will be used in advanced F-16 fighter aircraft bound for Pakistan, the U.S. Defense Department said on Tuesday....
05 December 2006 Thunderbirds release their 2007 schedule
The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, "Thunderbirds," has announced its 2007 air show schedule. The team is scheduled to perform more than 68 shows in 21 states and 8 European countries. ...
05 December 2006 F-16 pilot downed in Iraq listed as KIA
The American pilot whose F-16 fighter jet went down in Iraq was listed as killed in action following. DNA analysis of remains recovered at the crash site, the U.S. Air Force said Sunday. ...
04 December 2006 Luke F-16D crashes on training range
USAF F-16D from Luke AFB, Arizona crashed early Monday morning just east of Highway 85 on the Barry M. Goldwater Range. Both crew reported ejected safely....
01 December 2006 U.S. upgrades F-16s in South Korea
The block 30 F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 80th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan AFB are set to enter upgrade in the Air Force's Falcon Structural Augmentation Roadmap program aimed at extending the service life of the aircraft. ...
01 December 2006 Belgium F-16s to police Baltic airspace
The Belgian Air Force will deploy 4 F-16 MLU aircraft to Zokniai Air Base in Lithuania, where they will be used to protect the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. ...