The Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing in Burlington has just flown one of its Block 25 F-16s past 7,000 flying hours, the first F-16C to accumulate so many hours, reports the Burlington Free Press. ANG Lt. Col. Thomas Jackman flew tail No. 83-001165 on its milestone flight on March 24. Improvements over the years to the Air Force’s F-16 fleet have extended the fighter’s service life beyond the original 4,000 hours.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…