Ukrainian pilots have arrived in the U.S. to train to fly F-16s. In the past few days, several pilots arrived at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to begin English language training, a U.S. official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
While the West’s decision to train and equip Ukraine’s Air Force with American-made F-16s has garnered enormous attention, the war there is likely to remain a slugfest on the ground for months to come, U.S. military officials say. “Just giving them an F-16 is not going ...
The Russian Air Force has substantially revised its tactics in Ukraine and is holding down its losses by carrying out less effective bombing runs, Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa said Sept. 13.
The U.S. has resumed drone flights out of Niger “within the last couple of weeks” despite a coup that overthrew the democratically elected president, the top U.S. Air Force commander for Africa said Sept 13. America had halted drone operations after the July coup, Gen. ...
After a series of incidents in the skies over Syria, Russian pilots appear to have become less aggressive toward U.S. forces following the arrival of F-35 stealth multirole fighters to the Middle East, according to U.S. officials. Originally tasked to deter Iranian attacks on commercial ...
The No. 1 priority for USAFE Commander Gen. James Hecker is improving NATO's ability to neutralize adversary integrated air defense systems, which have proven a tough nut to crack for both Russia and Ukraine. He also said NATO will invest in regional bases around Europe ...
Ukraine won’t get a basic F-16 capability until at least 2024, and developing proficiency with that aircraft “could be four or five years down the road,” Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces-Africa, said Aug. 18. Hecker also downplayed ...
With Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. poised to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the coming months, a new question arises: who's in line to become the 23rd Air Force Chief of Staff? The most likely choice, by all accounts, ...
Top U.S. defense officials dismissed the notion that the U.S. would provide aircraft—manned or unmanned—anytime soon to Ukraine in Congressional hearings March 28 and 29. While Kyiv has repeatedly asked for F-16 fighters and MQ-9 drones, the Biden administration has refrained from providing them and ...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has proven that air superiority is vital to success in conflict, Gen. James B. Hecker, the top U.S. Air Force commander in Europe, said March 22. In a Mitchell Institute event, Hecker argued that if Russia had gained air superiority early ...
A Russian fighter collided with an American drone over the Black Sea on March 14, damaging the drone and causing it to crash, according to U.S. European Command. The U.S. military said the incident occurred in international airspace following “an unsafe and unprofessional intercept” of ...
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, Commander, Pacific Air Forces; Gen. James B. Hecker, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Commander; and Lt. Gen. Nina M. Armagno, Director of Staff, USSF came together for a session on “Airmen & Guardians in Demand: Meeting the Need” at the AFA Warfare Symposium, ...