This editorial is devoid of any blatant partisanship. I would have only wished that the scans were of a better quality or present as an embedded pdf document (pdf code is very short and easy to add).

“After completing inspections, more than 80 percent of operational F-35s have been cleared and returned to flight operations,” the Defense Department’s F-35 program office said Monday in a statement. “All U.S. services and international partners have resumed flying with their cleared aircraft.”

Source:
Bloomberg.com

C-17 Australia

Pretty awesome.

Begian maintenance crew accidentally gunned down the F-16 in Florennes – one injured – another aircraft lightly hit

Technician fired from another F-16 parked inside a hangar.

Le commandant de la base de Florennes, le colonel Didier Polomé, est rentré d’urgence de la base aérienne de Siauliai en Lituanie. Il y supervisait la participation des F16 belges à la mission de police aérienne de l’Otan baptisée “Baltic Air Policing”. Il explique son incompréhension: ” En arrivant ici, je me dis que ce n’est pas possible, un accident comme celui-là est presque de l’ordre de l’impossible. C’est certainement une suite de petites circonstances qui, au départ , n’ont peut-être aucune importances. C’est rarement la faute d’une personne qui aurait pris UNE mauvaise décision. Il s’agit d’une enquête à deux volets. Principalement la sécurité aérienne par une équipe spécialisée en accident d’avion qui vérifie plusieurs aspects, dont l’aspect technique de la chose: y a-t-il eu une défaillance au niveau du matériel. Il y a ensuite l’aspect juridique qui va analyser les fautes humaines possibles. Et analyser, si faute il y a eu, si l’erreur était intentionnelle ou pas.“
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The commander of the Florennes base, Colonel Didier Polomé, has returned urgently from the Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania. He supervised the participation of the Belgian F16 in the NATO air policing mission called “Baltic Air Policing”. He explains his incomprehension: “Arriving here, I still tell myself that it is not possible, an accident like this one is almost impossible … It is certainly a series of small circumstances which, accumulating to this error, it is rarely the fault of a person who made a wrong decision. A two-part investigation is ongoing.Mainly an aviation safety team specialized in accident of aircraft that will check several aspects, including the technical aspect of this incident: was there any failure of the equipment?There is then the legal aspect that will analyze possible human faults and analyze the problem, if fault there was, whether the error was intentional or not. ”

Source:
SudInfo.be
RTBF.be

PS: the good news is that it won’t probably impact much F-16 kill ration (one on one) 😉

And this too 😉

Boeing’s Indian executive to lead F-15 programme in the US

Kumar said he was upbeat about his new US role to build business for the F-15 programme the world over. The company will, however, expand its local manufacturing, technology and innovations, products and people in the Indian sub-continent, he added.

Source:
Economic Times.com

Belgian student pilots will now be trained in the US, at the Sheppard Air Base (Texas), where the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) is based.

Impressive…

I have seldom seen a Hawk, Alpha or a T-38 solo flown from the back.. The Mig being certainly not the most pleasant to fly from this position 😉