Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has warned US officials that he would consider sharing his country’s F-16 fighters with Cuba and China, according to the Associated Press. Chavez claims the Bush Administration has reneged on a contract to supply parts for his fleet of 21 Vipers. The aircraft were sold to Venezuela in 1983. DOD has denied that it has had any talks with Venezuela about sales to third countries.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.