Free Republic

Lockheed Martin has received a US Air Force F-16 Block 50 fighter set aside to undergo a three-year series of fatigue life tests that will play a major role in deciding the fate of hundreds of similar aircraft. Over the next 15 years, the USAF inventory is projected to dip as much as 10% below the required threshold of 2,000 fighters. As a result, service officials are considering extending the service life of as many as 300 F-16s by as much as 50%, to 12,000 flight hours. But first the USAF must find out how much service life remains among...

12/17/2003 - TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Airmen here have found a way to become involved with the local Iraqi community through a joint operation with the Army. As airmen leave the base after their tours of duty, many dispose of their civilian clothes. Officials here decided to collect the discarded clothes, clean them and give them to orphanages, schools and local families. “There’s a lot of life left in those clothes,” said Chaplain (Maj.) Michael Warner, the base’s chaplain from Kadena Air Base, Japan. He is the wing’s focal point for the program, Project Good Will. “Our people...