Thunderbirds: F-16 Anniversary
By Eric Hehs

A stack of Thunderbird VIP books—an annual publication highlighting the US Air Force Demonstration Team—occupies a prominent space on a shelf in Jim Latham’s office at the headquarters of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Fort Worth, Texas. Latham commanded the Thunderbirds the year the US Air Force Demonstration Team adopted the F-16. Today, he is director for international business development at the company that builds the airplane.

Peace Puma
By Eric Hehs

The blue-gray paint schemes of the Block 50 F-16s provide a cool contrast against the reddish-brown of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The four jets of the Fuerza Aerea de Chile fly in tight formation over sand, salt basins, lava flows, and abandoned nitrate minesÑthe driest landscapes on earth. Parts of the Atacama have not seen rain for periods of 400 years. Some riverbeds in this desert have been dry for 120,000 years. Scientists have compared the soil in Atacama to that found on Mars.

Belgium Deploys To Red Flag
MLU F-16s Take Part In Exercises At Nellis
Article and Photos by Andy Wolfe

"Red Flag is the top exercise in the world," says Lt. Col. Georges Franchomme, the Director of Operations for the Belgian Air Force's deployment to a Red Flag exercise last fall. "It provides as close to a real-world threat environment as possible without being in actual combat."