Air Combat Command and Air Force Reserve Command have cemented the Total Force Integration initiative to share F-16 operations at Hill AFB, Utah, between ACC’s 388th Fighter Wing and AFRC’s 419th FW. Officials for the two commands signed a memorandum of understanding last week, setting in place “a test case for future fighter associate programs,” reports 2nd Lt. Beth Woodward and Kari Tilton. The Reserve unit will be giving up its Block 30 F-16s, which go to other Reserve and Air National Guard units, and will be sharing the Block 40 F-16s of the 388th FW. The 388th also gets around 15 additional Vipers from Cannon AFB, N.M., bringing its total to about 80 aircraft.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.