While flying combat air patrol in Operation Southern Watch, two F-16 pilots from the 363rd Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB, S.C., intercept a pair of Iraqi MiG-25s flying in the UN-imposed no-fly zone over southern Iraq. One of the pilots, flying an F-16D, fires an AIM-120A AMRAAM and downs one of the MiGs, marking the first use of the AIM-120A in combat and the first USAF F-16 air-to-air victory.
NASA, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance are all preparing to launch their next-gen rockets from Florida’s Space Coast, two of them before the year is out. One is expected to liberate the U.S. launch enterprise from its reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines, while all three rockets could eventually carry astronaut crews.