UPDATE: Training device off-range

After conducting a safety/training day for 35th Fighter Wing flightline personnel and confirming the health of the aircraft involved in the training device incident last week, the 35th Fighter Wing will resume flying operations today to continue training alongside our Japanese allies in the mutual defense of Japan. We are still investigating last week’s incident and restricting aircraft drops of training munitions until we have thoroughly reviewed every aspect of the event and our procedures for Draughon Range to ensure we are flying in the safest manner possible.

Further, we will continue to inspect each and every aircraft before and after flight. There are many man-hours expended in the inspection and maintenance service of each aircraft, and we will continue to execute these actions in the interest of our safety and the community’s safety.

Engineers from the Tohoku Defense Bureau will be meeting with the wing’s engineers to determine how to best proceed with recovery operations, so operations at the incident site will remain paused until the best course of action is determined.