Photos from Taiwanese AF road-runway exercise

The Republic of China Air Force operated from a closed-off motorway as a runway during a part of a major military exercise simulating a Chinese surprise attack that had wiped out its major airbases. Codenamed Han Kuang 27, two F-16s, two Mirage 2000-5s and two F-CK-1 Indigenous Defence Fighters landed on a motorway near Tainan city, refuelled and rearmed before taking off again. (All Photos, Reuters)

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Dutch F-16 makes wheels-up landing at Belgian airport

A Dutch F-16 has made an emergency wheels-up landing at a Belgian civilian airport, causing the airport to be closed briefly. Flights were delayed but there were no injuries reported.

Netherlands to retire Cougars, trims F-16 fleet in defence cuts

The Netherlands is the latest country to announce more defence cuts with the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu or Royal Netherlands Air Force) set to retire all but its SAR Cougar helicopters in May, while its F-16 fleet will be reduced from 87 to 68 aircraft.

Greek F-16s escort jetliner after bomb hoax

A bomb threat which later turned out to be a hoax prompted the Hellenic Air Force to scramble a pair of F-16s to intercept a Thomsonfly Boeing 757 and escort it to Athens for a safe landing. The jetliner was on a flight from Bristol bound for the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Taiwan frustrated over stalled F-16 purchase and upgrades

With American approval stalled, Taiwanese officials are increasingly frustrated over its efforts to purchase F-16C/Ds and upgrading its present F-16 fleet. Taiwan's request for 66 F-16C/D Block 50/52s and an upgrade package for the RoCAF's 146 F-16A/B Block 20 fighters have been on hold since 2007 and 2009 respectively.

VIDEO: Belgian F-16AM strikes Libyan Su-22 on the ground

Belgian newspaper Staandard Online has put up a video on its Youtube site showing footage from the targeting pod of a Belgian Air Force F-16AM attacking a Libyan Su-22 Fitter on the ground at an airbase in Libya.

UAE Mirages, F-16 Block 60s arrive in Italy for operations over Libya

Despite some initial doubts on their commitment, six F-16 Block 60s and a similar number of Mirage 2000-9s from the United Arab Emirates air force landed at Italy's Decimomannu air base to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya. The contingent was supported by an Emirates Airlines Airbus A330-200 transport carrying personnel and equipment.

UAE, Netherlands contribute aircraft to enforce Libya NFZ

The list of countries contributing to the enforcement of Libya's no-fly zone grows; the Netherlands has sent a contingent of six F-16s and a KDC-10 to support operations, while the United Arab Emirates has also announced that it is contributing a dozen aircraft, six F-16s and a similar number of Mirage 2000s.

Danish F-16s drop their first bombs on Libya

The Royal Danish Air Force has confirmed that its F-16s have released precision-guided bombs during combat missions over Libya. The RDAF have so far flown 12 sorties in support of the US-led Operation "Odyssey Dawn" with eleven of these were dedicated to air-to-ground tasks. Photos of its F-16s seen so far usually show a combat loadout of 2 GBU-31 JDAMs, with 3 AIM-120 and 1 AIM-9X Sidewinder AAMs.

Taiwan to conduct emergency runway exercise on highway

Taiwan has announced that RoCAF F-16s and Mirage 2000s will take part in an emergency runway exercise in April. A stretch of highway in Tainan in the south of the island will be converted into a runway, and the Army's AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships will be involved in the exercise for the first time.

Marine pilots fly F-16s to prepare for F-35s

Starting a process of familiarizing themselves to operate F-35B Lightning II JSF, Marine aviators of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501 have completed sorties in F-16 Fighting Falcons of the USAF. F-16s from Luke AFB were flown to Eglin AFB for the process.

Belgian F-16s fly first missions over Libya

After deploying its Vipersto Greece over the weekend, Belgium's F-16 contingent has flown its first missions over Libya, with sources indicating a flight of four aircraft were involved.

Sentry Down Under wrap-up for Iowa ANG

After a month away from home, the Iowa National Guard has returned from Australia after completing Exercise Sentry Down Under with the Royal Australian Air Force. During the exercise IOwa ANG's F-16s conducted Basic Fighter Maneuvers with RAAF flight instructors and the students in F/A-18 Hornets

Danish government commits F-16s for proposed Libya NFZ

The Danish foreign minister has said that the Royal Danish Air Force will contribute four F-16 fighter jets to take part in an internationally-backed no-fly zone over Libya if the UN Security Council approves the move.

USAF to move 18 ANG F-16s backup status

The USAF will move 18 Air National Guard F-16s to backup status in Fiscal Year 2012, in a move which affects three fighters each at six ANG wings across the United States. The affected units are from the Alabama, South Dakota, Iowa, Vermont, Colorado and Wisconsin ANG.

Pakistani Mirage squadron transtions to F-16s

One of the Pakistani Air Force’s oldest squadrons has transitioned from the ageing Mirage III interceptor to the newly inducted F-16 C/D Block 52+. A re-equipment ceremony for No 5 Squadron was held at Shahbaz Airbase in Jacobabad with the Mirages and F-16s conducting a fly-past.

UAE selects Goodrich DB-110 recce pod for F-16s

IDEX always provides a chance for the UAE to go shopping, with Goodrich ISR Systems securing a contract for six DB-110 reconnaissance pods for the UAEAF's F-16s. The UAEAF is also procuring three ground-based image exploitation systems under the contract.

F-35 delays shifts USAF focus to F-16 service life

The Secretary of the USAF has said that the USAF's Block 30 series F-16s may need to have their service lives extended to under 11,000 flight hours due to delays with the F-35. Effort and costs involved are expected to be minimal, and it could mean the fighters can add around nine extra years to their service lives.

VIDEO: Danish F-16s join Italian Typhoons at Winter Hide 2011

Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from the Italian Air Force's 4° Stormo hosted 11 Skrydstrup-based F-16 jets from the Royal Danish Air Force Base in a joint exercise codenamed Winter Hide 2011 at Grosseto, home of the Italian Typhoons.

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South Korea adds JDAM capability to its F-16s

South Korea has announced that the Republic of Korea Air Force's (ROKAF) F-16C/Ds have been upgraded with software allowing the employment of the GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). The RoKAF has conducted successful drops of the JDAM to verify the software upgrade.