An Air Force Reserve Command F-16 crashed in the Florida straits about 75 miles south-southeast of Homestead ARB, Fla., around 11 a.m. on Monday. The pilot, assigned to AFRC’s 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead, ejected safely. The Sun Sentinel reports that the Viper experienced a “mechanical problem” before it crashed into the water, and the Coast Guard rescued the pilot who was in a life raft. The Air Force did not immediately identify the pilot.
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.