Crews and F-16s from the 510th Fighter Squadron at Aviano AB, Italy, concluded Anatolian Eagle, an annual exercise that saw them fly with Jordanian, Saudi, Spanish, and Turkish partners from Konya AB, Turkey. In addition to USAF F-16s, the 11-day, large-force employment drill drew F-15s from Saudi Arabia, F-18s from Spain, and F-5s from Turkey and Jordan. “A key objective to this is putting each coalition partner’s unique capabilities in the best position to succeed,” noted Col. Michael Thompson, 510th FS commander. “I think we got a good understanding of what our limitations are from our Saudi, Jordanian, Spanish, and Turkish allies, and they’ve learned a lot from us as well.” The exercise incorporated support aircraft in addition to fighters, simulating the scope of air operations in a manner similar to USAF’s annual Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev. (Konya report by SrA. William O-Brien)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
