Lt. Col. Dave Iverson has the distinction currently to be the only active duty USAF pilot to reach more than 4,000 flying hours in the F-15E Strike Eagle, according to a 48h Fighter Wing report on Jan. 27 from Nevada, where wing members are participating in Red Flag. Iverson, who commands the 492nd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, Britain, has flown the F-15E since 1993, including combat sorties over Iraq in Northern and Southern Watch, over Bosnia in Deny Flight, and Afghanistan in Enduring Freedom (he reached 3,000 hours in 2007 over Afghanistan). Col. John Quintas, 48th Operations Group commander, said the number of F-15E hours is “not nearly as impressive as the wide-ranging contributions he’s made to the Strike Eagle community.” Iverson acknowledged the milestone but said, “With our current overseas contingency responsibilities you’ll see a lot more people break the 4,000-hour mark.” (48th FW report by TSgt. Chris Stagner)
Due to the prolonged delay in deliveries of the Tech Refresh 3 version of the F-35 fighter, Denmark is pulling six of its TR-2-configured F-35 jets stationed in the U.S. back to home base in order to consolidate aircraft and get better training for its pilots and maintainers, the Danish…