Missing F-16's Pilot Body Found In The Gulf Of Mexico

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Some unfortunate news in the Air Force world today: The body of the missing F-16 pilot out of Tyndall Air Force Base was found in the Gulf Of Mexico today, along with the general location of the stricken F-16.

CNN and other news sources have confirmed the death of the unnamed pilot.

There is no real official information available as to a possible cause of the F-16 crash or how it may affect the QF-16 program, if it was indeed one of the jets being converted into a drone. I have been told by different sources that the aircraft was on its last test flight before being certified as a QF-16 and put into the FSAT fleet.

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What also remains unclear is if the pilot was a private contractor or an active USAF pilot as there is a private industry team that supports the conversion and fielding of mothballed F-16s into FSAT drones.

Tyler Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer who maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com