According to news reports, the pilot of the F-16 that crashed Monday night (or see below) about 10:25 p.m. was killed. The aircraft from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, was destroyed on impact at the Utah Test and Training Range. An early report by ABC 4 in Utah said the wife of Capt. George Bryan Houghton, 28, of Candler, N.C., acknowledged she had been informed of his death on Tuesday morning. Later, the Deseret News reported that Air Force officials at Hill confirmed the pilot’s death in a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Air Force rescue forces found the crash site Monday night, and the Air Force initially reported it was still searching for the pilot. ABC 4 reports that the crash site is about 35 miles south of Wendover near the Utah-Nevada state line. The Air Force has not determined the cause of the crash, but, per the Deseret News, Hill officials did say the pilot made no distress call and they were uncertain if he tried to eject. USAF will form a board to investigate the accident.
A record investment in research and development by the Department of the Air Force will help the United States win the long-term technology race with China, even while shrinking the fleet size before a possible mid-decade Taiwan contingency, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 17. “With the Air Force,…