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)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
