Dropping bombs

Squadron Leader Sion Hughes, a British exchange pilot and Capt. Gary Beisner, a 46th Operations Group test engineer, take off from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., during a bomb rack unit jettison test May 21. The mission collected separations data for the BRU-61carriage system loaded with a Guided Bomb Unit-39 over the Gulf of Mexico. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the first DoD aircraft to test jettison capabilities of the BRU-61. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

Dropping bombs

Squadron Leader Sion Hughes, a British exchange pilot and Capt. Gary Beisner, a 46th Operations Group test engineer, return to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., after a bomb rack unit jettison test May 21. The mission collected separations data for the BRU-61carriage system loaded with a Guided Bomb Unit-39 over the Gulf of Mexico. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the first DoD aircraft to test jettison capabilities of the BRU-61. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

Dropping bombs

An F-16 from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, releases a Guided Bomb Unit-31 over the Utah test range May 17 as part of Combat Hammer, a weapons system evaluation program. Aircraft from many different squadrons were on hand to participate in the air-to-ground evaluation conducted by the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron, located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The squadron hosts evaluations at Hill, Tyndall and Eglin each year, assessing weapon system performance, reliability, capabilities, and limitations in realistic combat scenarios against representative real-world targets. (Courtesy photo.)

Dropping bombs

An F-16 from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, releases a Guided Bomb Unit-24 over the Utah test range May 17 as part of Combat Hammer, a weapons system evaluation program. Aircraft from many different squadrons were on hand to participate in the air-to-ground evaluation conducted by the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron, located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The squadron hosts evaluations at Hill, Tyndall and Eglin each year, assessing weapon system performance, reliability, capabilities, and limitations in realistic combat scenarios against representative real-world targets. (Courtesy photo.)

Return trip

The 113th Wing flagship F-16 Fighting Falcon, from the District of Columbia Air National Guard, taxis out toward the runway at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., returning home to Washington, Aug. 29. The F-16s arrived here Aug. 26 as an evacuation measure from the impending Hurricane Irene. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

Return trip

An F-16 Fighting Falcon, from the District of Columbia Air National Guard, taxis out toward the runway at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., returning home to Washington, Aug. 29. The F-16s arrived here Aug. 26 as an evacuation measure from the impending Hurricane Irene. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)