The airmen at Edwards AFB, Calif., who test parachutes for a living have been practicing their trade with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s IGQ type 6000 parachute. Testers with the 418th Flight Test Squadron each made 10 jumps last month with the new parachute—jumping from a Twin Otter—to check if the canopy meets specifications. The F-35 incorporates the parachute harness unlike the F-16, where pilots wear their harness and hook in once seated in the Viper cockpit.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.