USAF F-16s on Monday joined F-16s from Jordan, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates at Azraq Royal Jordanian Air Base for this year’s Falcon Air Meet, a two-week competition. “The Jordanians are impeccable hosts,” said Maj. Gerrod McLellan, Air Forces Central’s exercise lead officer. He added, “They are more than willing to engage with us on all levels” not only in combat exercises, but also in maintenance, emergency response, force protection, fuel and armaments. The flight syllabus and competition this year include both the well-established air-to-air engagement training and close air support, including US Navy F/A-18s, and a single B-52. Falcon Air Meet was originally a bilateral US-Jordanian training event, but has grown into a multinational, broad-ranging activity. Last year, the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing was the overall winner. (Azraq report by TSgt. Chyenne Adams)
In 1941, Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold of the then-U.S. Army Air Corps, personally reviewed a jet engine patented by Sir Frank Whittle flying on a Gloster E.28/39 aircraft. Impressed by its design, Arnold arranged for a Whittle engine to be brought back to the U.S. and tasked General Electric…