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A routine training flight over Arizona in January 2023 took an unusual turn when a U.S. Air Force F-16D was struck by what was initially reported as an unidentified object, but now U.S. defense officials say was a small drone.
Fox News confirmed that the incident, which occurred near Gila Bend, Arizona, on Jan. 19, 2023, was a routine training mission and was witnessed by the instructor pilot seated in the rear of the two-seat aircraft.
According to a U.S. defense official, the pilot observed a "mostly white and orange object" collide with the left side of the aircraft canopy, the transparent covering over the cockpit.
Initially, the object was thought to be a bird, a common hazard for aircraft. But after conducting checks during the flight and a detailed inspection upon landing at Tucson International Airport, the crew found "zero evidence" of a bird strike.
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A U.S. Air Force F-16 receives fuel from a fuel boom suspended from an Air Force KC-10 Extender during midair refueling over Iraq and Syria airspace. (Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed)
With no signs of feathers or biological debris, the pilots concluded the object was more likely a small unmanned aerial system (UAS), commonly referred to as a drone.
"A conclusion was made by the aircrew that the aircraft was struck by a small drone," the U.S. defense official said.
An F-16 fighter jet, like the same model in this photo, was struck by a drone over Arizona in 2023. (Go Bum-jun/Newsis via AP, File)
The drone's operator has not been identified, and the drone itself was not recovered. It is unknown who was flying it and whether it was being operated legally in the area.
The U.S. defense official said this January 2023 incident was rare, and there have been no further reports of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) colliding with F-16s since.
Two F-16s take-off from the Hualien air force base in eastern Taiwan, on Jan. 23, 2013. (AFP/File)
The strike resulted in no injuries or damage.
The Department of Defense clarified the situation after earlier reports inaccurately claimed the aircraft was damaged and that the object was an unidentified object.
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Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.
Since joining in 2021, she’s covered high-stakes criminal justice—from the Menendez brothers’ resentencing, where Judge Jesic slashed their life-without-parole terms to 50-years-to-life (making them parole-eligible), to the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump's life and shifting immigration enforcement, including her reporting on South Florida’s illegal-immigration crisis, covering unprecedented migrant crossings from the Bahamas and ensuing enforcement operations.
Beyond those beats, she reports on crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news, and more—delivering both breaking updates and in-depth analysis across Fox News Digital. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
