WASHINGTON – An American F-16 fighter jet crashed on Wednesday near LasVegas, the third US military aircraft crash in two days.

“An Air Force F-16 assigned to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, crashed atapproximately 10:30 am during routine training on the Nevada Test andTraining Range,” the Air Force said in a statement.

“The condition of the pilot is not known at this time,” it said.

The crash followed two others the day before.

In California, a Marine Corps CH-53E helicopter crashed with four crewaboard.

“The status of all four is presumed dead pending positive identification,”the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said.

And in Djibouti, a Marine AV-8B Harrier jet crashed after the pilot ejectedduring takeoff.

“Doctors said the pilot was in stable condition,” US Naval Forces CentralCommand said.

US defence department chief James Mattis secured a record budget last monthfor the Pentagon, which will allow investments that have been on hold forseveral years, including in the Navy, which is overstretched in foreigntheatres, and the Air Force, which suffers rapid pilot turnover due to morelucrative private sector options.