US Air Forces Central announced that an F-16 fighter deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, caught fire Nov. 12 after its pilot aborted a takeoff around 5:40 a.m. local time. The pilot managed to get out of the aircraft on the ground, with no apparent injury, but the aircraft was destroyed in the fire. The Air Force planned to convene an accident investigation board.
New devices meant to save money spent on gas by reducing aerodynamic drag are inching closer to fleetwide adoption for the Air Force’s 222 C-17 transport jets.