Officials with the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano AB, Italy, unveiled a new F-16 static display for the base on May 29. The aircraft was one of the 34 F-16s supplied to the Italian air force as part of the Peace Caesar Program in 2003, according to Aviano officials. Italy acquired the F-16s to bridge the gap until its Eurofighter Typhoons were in place. The NATO ally recently returned the last of the F-16s. Aviano officials said approximately 4,125 manhours were needed to decommission the F-16 for its display role, including sanding and painting it and removing its egress seat and gun. (Aviano photo caption by A1C Briana Jones)
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…