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TUCSON — Dutch fighter pilots will soon be training high over Southern Arizona. The Arizona Air National Guard says the Royal Netherlands Air Force is resuming F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot training at Tucson International Airport after a three-year absence. The 162nd Fighter Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard will welcome the first Dutch pilots and aircraft Oct. 29. The Dutch plan to base 14 of their own jets in Tucson to participate in basic F-16 flight training and instructor pilot certification. Training is set to be in full swing by January 2011. A spokesman for the 162nd Fighter Wing...

Rumors that Iraq has made its official request. (April 6/10) Iraq’s military has made significant strides in recent months, and the country is beginning to order more advanced military equipment to match. A slew of 2008 requests would spend over $10 billion to buy advanced armored vehicles, strengthen its national military supply chain, build new bases and infrastructure for its army, and even buy advanced scout helicopters. Anxious to complete its transformation and stand fully on its own, Iraq is pushing to begin flying its own fighters within the next couple of years – and is looking to buy American...

9/19/2003 - HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) -- Air Force investigators determined an F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed after at least one Spot-billed Duck was ingested into the engine, resulting in catastrophic engine failure, according to a report released Sept. 18. The May 29 crash happened off the end of the runway at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The mishap pilot was the wingman in a two-ship formation on a night-training mission at the time of the accident. The pilot and a Korean on the ground were slightly injured in the crash. According to the report, shortly after taking off,...

U.S. forces have uncovered an illegal chemical-weapons plant in An Najaf, some 90 miles south of Baghdad, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. The discovery of the chemical plant was also later confirmed by Fox News. A senior Pentagon official told network correspondent Bret Baier that coaltion forces discovered a ''huge'' chemical-weapons factory near An Najaf. At least 30 Iraqi troops, including a general, surrendered today to troops with the 3rd Infantry Division within minutes of U.S. forces entering the area to capture the sheet metal-lined chemical weapons production facility. One U.S. soldier was wounded when a booby-trapped...