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A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter shot down a Yugoslav MiG-29 jet Mondaynight after the MiG rose to challenge the American warplane during NATO bombing raids The Russian-built fighter jet was downed near the border between Serbia and Bosnia.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Friday Greece will buy more than50 F16Block-50 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin for about $2 billion. They will also purchase another 15 Mirage 2000-5 from Dassault.

Four F-16AMs of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) were among the first NATO aircraft to enter Serbian airspace on the night of 24 March. Within minutes, the Dutch had achieved their first air-to-air victory since World War II, shooting down a Serbian MiG-29.

The Dutch have contributed 16 F-16 fighters, based at the Amendola airbase in southern Italy. Belgium has contributed 10 F-16 fighters, also based at Amendola. Between them, Dutch and Belgian planes conducted more than 588missions in Yugoslavia up to April 15. Both countries are sending four moreF-16 jets. Denmark announced on that it plans to double the number of F-16 jets at Gazzanise airbase to eight. Later this week, the legislature is expected to formally endorse that. Norway F-16s are also based at Gazzanise. Portugal has deployed three F-16s which have been involved in patrols over the Adriatic and Bosnia.

First Lt. Erkan Salman and First Lt. Oguz Yeten of FLO 182, the Turkish F-16 squadron at Ghedi Air Base, broke a record of being airborne for 7 hours and 25 minutes with their F-16C's.

The Danish government will meet NATOs request to double the number of Danish air force F-16 fighter jets taking part in strikes against Yugoslavia to eight aircraft.

The Pentagon has formally notified the U.S. Congress that Egypt intends to purchase 24 more F-16 warplanes from Lockheed Martin Corp. for about $1 billion. After a 30-day review period, Lockheed said, a letter of offer and acceptance would be signed in May. Production deliveries would begin in 2001 and continue for about 15 months, Lockheed said. The planes, which would increase the Egyptian Air Force's current fleet of196 F-16s, are part of a larger $3. 2 billion order from Cairo for U.S. military hardware that was announced last month by Defense Secretary William Cohen. The order for 12 single-seat F-16Cs and 12 two-seat F-16Ds is the sixth Egyptian order of F-16 planes. Deliveries of the fifth order are scheduled to begin in June, but are currently running ahead of schedule.

The Philippines announced on Tuesday they have set up an initial fund of six billion pesos ($156 million) to finance the start of their long-delayed military modernization program and were accepting offers from foreign suppliers.

The Department of Defense announced today more details on the sale of24 F-16C/D Block 40 aircraft to the Government of Egypt.

Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems delivered the 3, 035th F-16 from Air Force Plant No. 4 located in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 26. This makes the F-16 the largest production program in the plant's history, surpassing the B-24.

Greek air defenses locked onto a Turkish F-16 flying over the Aegean Sea. Turkey has sent a stern protest note to its formal NATO ally calling the action "hostile".

The forces NATO can call on to strike against Yugoslavia greatly outweigh Belgrade's, but Yugoslav defenses, especially ground-to-air missiles, still count as among the most powerful in central Europe. The breakdown of the opposing forces is as follows (most figures from the International Institute for Strategic Studies)"

Two U.S. F-16s made an unscheduled landing at a South Korean airport Thursday around 10. 15GMT, nearly running into a protective wall at the end of the runway. A Defense Ministry official said the airport was occasionally used by both Korean and U.S. military planes. But he said he did not know why the planes had made the unscheduled stop. Airport officials said the fighter pilots seemed unharmed. The airport was closed after the landing. Four flights had to be rerouted while 15 others, all domestic, were cancelled.

The United States said on Monday it had formally offered to sell 26sophisticated ``AMRAAM'' air-to-air missiles along with associated equipment and training to Bahrain for $110 million. The package was offered to Bahrain by Defense Secretary William Cohenlast week during a visit to the Gulf but no specifics were given at the time. In addition to the AMRAAMs, the package would include 50 missile launch rails for Bahrain's F-16 fighter jets, missile containers, software, maintenance and pilot training.

The UAE said Sunday its aircraft deal with the United States worth about $7 billion remained unsigned, and it may still seek an alternative source on the international market.