On of NASA's two F-16XL aircraft has been equipped with the digital Flight Control System of a Block40 F-16. The Digital FCS replaces the aircraft's analog F-16A/B-style system. ...

About 700 US Block 40 and Block 50 F-16s will be modified under the Common Configuration Implementation Program. CCIP will bring the aircraft to production Block 50 standard, which will enhance reliability and increase operational versatility. ...

Reserve F-16 fighter units from Luke AFB, Ariz., and Homestead Air Reserve Station, Fla., are set to deploy to Turkey in the spring to take part in Operation Northern Watch, the enforcement of the no-fly zone over northern Iraq. Reserve officials said that deployment should be the last of its kind because the Air Force will transition to the new Expeditionary Aerospace Force late next year. ...

The new Dutch government is considering the first major scaling back of the armed forces since 1993 as it seeks to cut the defense budget by 375 million guilders ($184. 8 million) per year. ...

Another record has been set in the F-16. Major Mike Brill became the first pilot to reach 4, 000 flight hours in the Fighting Falcon. He achieved this milestone on August 21, 1998, in a Block 30 F-16C at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. ...

Capt. Erik Pettyjohn was selected by Lockheed Martin to receive the 1998 Joe Bill Dryden Semper Viper Award for his heroic actions in operation Northern Watch. ...