The 20th Fighter Wing at South Carolina’s Shaw Air Force Base has a new commander, who is overseeing the establishment of new procedures in the wake of an F-16 crash near Charleston. The accident investigation cited lackluster maintenance as a key factor in the crash. Speaking at a media roundtable in South Carolina on Nov. 7, Col. Bill Hyatt said that the wing had implemented changes even before receiving the final investigation report. The Item (Sumter, S.C.) quoted Hyatt as saying the fact that maintainers did not have “complete control of parts and pieces” as they disassembled and reassembled engines “bit us.” Hyatt added that while technical procedures were not followed, “they also weren’t easy to follow.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.