The 31st Fighter Wing launched several of its F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft Jan. 29 to join the ongoing search effort for a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who was declared missing during a nighttime training mission Jan. 28.

The fighter jets will provide further assistance to the robust rescue operation already underway, joining U.S. and Italian aircraft and ships. Capt. Lucas Gruenther, 31st Fighter Wing chief of flight safety, was conducting an F-16 training sortie over the Adriatic Sea when contact was lost with his aircraft.

Buzzards everywhere send their deepest condolences as well as our thoughts and prayers to the friends and family of Lucas.  A terrible loss....

An Italian vessel on the Adriatic Sea on Thursday recovered the body of F-16 pilot Capt. Lucas Gruenther, announced officials at Aviano AB, Italy. Gruenther had been missing since Monday when contact was lost with his F-16 during a nighttime training mission over the water. He was chief of flight safety for Aviano's 31st Fighter Wing.

Team Aviano welcomed back approximately 300 Airmen Oct. 4 and 6 from a four-and-a-half-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Unlike many Air Force deployments in which individuals are deployed from various bases to be part of other teams in theater, an entire aviation package deployed with personnel from across the 31st Fighter Wing, but primarily from the Operations and Maintenance Groups.

U.S. military officials are coordinating search and rescue efforts with Italian military and civilian teams following the loss of communication with an Aviano F-16 fighter jet Monday evening. The aircraft, assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing, was performing a training mission over the Adriatic Sea when the base lost contact with the pilot at approximately 8 p.m. Soon after, Italian aircraft and ships were dispatched to the missing jet's last known location.

The Air Force has used the GBU-54 bomb for the first time in combat in Afghanistan, officials at Bagram Airfield announced, Oct. 4, 2010. An F-16 deployed to Bagram from the 510th Fighter Squadron at Aviano AB, Italy, recently dropped a GBU-54 during a combat sortie, they said. The GBU-54, known as the Laser JDAM, is a 500-pound joint direct attack munition with the addition of a laser-guidance kit. That addition allows the munition to strike moving targets precisely, just as it can accurately strike stationary objects via its GPS-aided guidance package. The GBU-54 made its combat debut in August 2008 in Iraq. Here, the weapon is shown resting on an Aviano F-16's wing at Bagram, Oct. 1, 2010.

Air Force photo by SSgt. Christopher Boitz

1LT Ralph A. Santasiero, 90, of Raritan passed away on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012.

Lt. Colonel Howard "Hi" I. Price, born September 15, 1918, passed away at home on June 11, 2011 in Bradenton, Florida.

History Channel:  The most feared aircraft in the Air Force arsenal, the A-10 Tankbuster was the first aircraft in U.S. aviation history designed specifically for Close Air Support. From its first taste of battle in Desert Storm to the recent assault on Baghdad, the A-10 carries enough weaponry into battle to disable 16 main battle tanks, and with its amazing 30 millimeter 7-barrelled cannon, the "Flying Gun" dominates the skies. Features interviews with A-10 pilots, many of whom flew in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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The Daily Show video on Special Operations, this segment specifically to the A-10 and its capabilities.

This is a five part series introducing the capabilities of the A-10 aircraft.