The 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard AFB, Tex., has received its first two T-6 Texan II trainers, marking the start of the conversion from the T-37 Tweet for the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, reports the Times Record News. Wing pilots flew a ceremonial four-ship last fall to mark the end of the Tweet era. The wing expects to reach its full complement of Texans by December 2009; it’s the last base to convert to the new trainers.
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.