Air Force, industry, state, and local officials on Tuesday ceremoniously opened the new Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul Technology Center near Tinker AFB, Okla. Once fully completed, the MROTC will comprise 17 hangars, including 1.6 million square feet of back-shop, industrial, logistics support, classroom, and research space. Finished since construction began last spring is the first hangar, where Boeing and Air Force technicians will perform system upgrades for E-3 AWACs aircraft. Officials expect to see two more hangars completed in mid-2008.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.