A US Navy pilot was being evaluated for injuries after an F/A-18C Hornet crashed Tuesday near Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev. The Hornet was conducting a routine training flight and was returning to base when it crashed at about 10:45 a.m. approximately 10 miles southeast of the base, according to a Navy news release. The pilot ejected and was taken to Banner Churchill Regional Medical Center and no details on the pilot’s condition were released. This was the second crash of an F-18 within a week, following the fatal crash of a Marine Corps F/A-18C during a training flight near Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. The pilot, Maj. Richard Norton, was a member of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, Marine Aircraft Group 11 stationed at MCAS Miramar, Calif.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.