Several Serbia Air Force airmen visited Aviano AB, Italy, recently to experience USAF F-16 operations up close and personal. They were returning the visit by several Aviano Triple Nickel airmen to Serbia earlier this year. Air Force journalist TSgt. Jerome Baysmore reports that the Serbian Air Force is in the midst of rebuilding, following losing 70 percent of its infrastructure and some 150 aircraft to Operation Allied Force aircrews in 1999. That was then, and this is now.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.