Technology improves, and times change, but the idea of air superiority remains. Ever since airplanes entered the battlefield, nations have been working to control the skies and one-up each other. The F16 is an example of maintaining air superiority through countermeasures and neutralizing enemy aircraft and anti-aircraft efforts. The problem? It’s sure crashing a lot in the Yellow Sea. Many F-16 fighter jets are stationed in South Korea to maintain a show of strength, but the costly aircraft have had multiple crashes as of late. Suggested read: Nikki Haley’s Husband (Michael Haley) Deploys to Africa

How Much Does F16 Cost?

You can get an F16 for around $25 to $30 million, however, there are multiple versions of the aircraft. If you want to add the bells and whistles to improve the aircraft, boosting an F16 fighter jet to modern capacity will run you double if not more at $60 to $70 million per unit. There are several aircraft surpassing these figures, yet it’s hard to say the F16 jet is close to chump change. Recognized as one of the 15 most expensive fighter jets in the world, the price of an F16 fighter jet is far from ideal to have issues causing them to crash. Even worse, issues with any aircraft put those on board at risk as well as those below. The F16 is also a mainstay in the Pacific to help keep North Korea and China at bay, meaning it needs to be operational-ready. Another crash occurred in the Yellow Sea on January 31, 2024. The third issue in nine months. Yet, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) remains confident in the aircraft and has already resumed operations following unspecified issues that have caused the latest incident.

Back in Action After Yellow Sea Crash

As yet another F16 fighter jet crashes in the Yellow Sea, eyes continue to be on the USAF. However, flights have already resumed after the crash on January 31, 2024. A Pilot from the 8th Fighter Wing at the Kunsan Air Base was dealing with an unspecified issue before ejecting from the aircraft. Although in good condition, there was a search-and-recovery effort to search the area. Now, the cause of the crash is under investigation. So far, none of the crashes by the F16 Falcon fighter jet over the past nine months seem have a connection to an underlying cause. In May 2023, an F16 Pilot ejected from the aircraft crashing near South Korea’s Osan Air Base. This could have been an anomaly, but in December 2023, another ejection was made while training. Thankfully, everyone escaped unharmed. Related read: BETA Technologies Is Working With the USAF to Deliver an Electric Fleet

How Fast Can an F16 Fly?

The F16's top speed is Mach 2, which is just over 1,500 mph. While the F16 won’t make the list of the fastest aircraft available, speed isn’t everything, despite what Tom Cruise might try to tell us. The function of the F16 is complex and critical to national security. Hopefully, the rate of crashes will reduce in 2024. Although around three F16s crash per year, less is more in this case where everyone is better off if the aircraft can operate without any issues. Read next: Celebrate USO Day by Giving Back to Our Nation’s Military Community