AF (Billy Blankenship) - Red Tails train to keep F-35s in the fight during Tuskegee Thunder
The exercise tested the unit's ability to generate and sustain F-35A Lightning II combat airpower in a simulated, contested Indo-Pacific environment.
AMERICANALMANAC (Jack Newsome) - Flight instructor, 21, lands plane on Florida interstate after engine fails — flying under highway signs to avoid traffic
A 21-year-old flight instructor with 1,300 hours of experience glided a failing aircraft under highway signage and onto a busy Pensacola interstate after losing her engine mid-lesson, a landing one trucker called a "miracle." Emily Shelton was conducting a flight lesson with a student pilot on his very first outing when she smelled oil fumes […] The post Flight instructor, 21, lands plane on Florida interstate after engine fails — flying under highway signs to avoid traffic appeared first on American Almanac .
A 21-year-old flight instructor with 1,300 hours of experience glided a failing aircraft under highway signage and onto a busy Pensacola interstate after losing her engine mid-lesson, a landing one trucker called a "miracle." Emily Shelton was conducting a flight lesson with a student pilot on his very first outing when she smelled oil fumes filling the cockpit. The oil pressure gauge had dropped into the red. Within moments, the engine quit entirely, and Shelton found herself managing a dead aircraft over one of Florida's busiest east-west corridors, Interstate 10 near Pensacola. Her radio calls to air traffic control, captured in audio reviewed by The Sun , trace the emergency in real time. Shelton reported the oil pressure failure,…Open
STRIPES (Seth Robson) - Stealth fighters assemble for multinational combat training in Australia | Stars and Stripes
American, Australian and Japanese F-35A Lighting II stealth fighters are training together over northern Australia as part of Pitch Black.
WAR (Austen McClain) - Medal of Honor Recipient Welcomes Newest Student Naval Aviators
Retired Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams, the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, returned to the base where he earned his gold wings, joining Naval Aviation Schools Command in congratulating 29 student naval aviators who completed their introductory flight evaluation training.
STRIPES (Maria Elena Scott) - South Carolina National Guard helicopter pilots suspended after July 4 flyover | Stars and Stripes
AF (Benjamin Faske) - 99th FTS leaders become first AETC pilots qualified on T-7A Red Hawk
In a historic milestone for future fifth- and sixth-generation fighter pilot production, two leaders from the 99th Flying Training Squadron have unlocked the unit's operational independence by becoming the first Air Education and Training Command pilots qualified on the T-7A Red Hawk.
STRIPES (Joseph Ditzler) - Navy pilots practice for carrier-landing perfection on Iwo Jima | Stars and Stripes
For 10 days, Navy pilots exercised their muscle memory for putting their high-powered, 20-ton aircraft onto a moving, sometimes pitching platform at sea.
STRIPES (Gary Warner) - Air Force approves production of T-7A Red Hawk jet trainer | Stars and Stripes
Boeing will be paid $219 million for the first 14 of the two-seat trainer that will be used to teach new Air Force pilots how to handle jet aircraft.
AF (Pentagon News) - Air Force greenlights T-7A Red Hawk for production following Milestone C
The Air Force recently approved initial production of 14 T-7A aircraft, spares and trainers to get the next generation training capabilities into the hands of instructor pilots and students as quickly and safely as possible.
AF (2nd Lt. Grace Brandt) - US, Chilean Air Force crews complete historic refueling
U.S. and Chilean Air Force (FACh) crews demonstrated advanced interoperability April 4, 2026, executing the first-ever Chilean KC-135 Stratotanker air-to-air refueling of two U.S. F-35A Lightning II aircraft—marking a significant step forward in bilateral airpower integration.