An F-16 assigned to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, crashed around 11:50 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
The F-35 upgrades known as Technology Refresh 3 are now a year overdue and have halted deliveries of the newest fighter jets from Lockheed Martin.
The Air Force Reserve's 301st Fighter Wing will receive the component's first two F-35A Lightning II fighters this summer.
The Air Force hopes its Venom experiments will allow it to more quickly develop self-flying drone wingmen known as CCAs.
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