The Air Force finally is scrapping its remaining 110 T-3A Firefly training aircraft that the service suspended in 1997 following a series of accidents that killed six people over a period of three years. The Air Force bought the aircraft to replace the T-41 and began using them in 1993. USAF formally grounded the British-made aircraft in 1999, following failed attempts to ensure their airworthiness. The pre-pilot screening aircraft remained in storage at the Air Force Academy and at Hondo Airport near in San Antonio.
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.