According to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Government of Singapore has decided to train its F-16 pilots with the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing. He said in a Jan. 7 statement, “The decision will bring an additional $60 million into Tucson’s economy and is a vote of confidence in the future of the Tucson Air National Guard in light of the pending evaluation by the Air Force for the stationing of the F-35 Lightning at Tucson IAP.” The Ohio ANG’s 178th FW at Springfield learned Jan. 4 it would not get the new contract, reports the Springfield News-Sun. The 178th FW, which loses its F-16s under BRAC 2005, expects to wrap up its training mission for Dutch F-16 pilots this fall. An Ohio National Guard official told the newspaper that although the Air Force and Air Guard had discussed a number of missions, “all of that is still up in the air.”
“Military history shows that the best defense is almost always a maneuvering offense supported by solid logistics. This was true for mechanized land warfare, air combat, and naval operations since World War II. It will also be true as the world veers closer to military conflict in space,” writes Aidan…