The Air Force and prime contractor Northrop Grumman chose a Pratt & Whitney engine to replace the existing P&W engines on the service’s fleet of 19 E-8 Joint STARS ground surveillance aircraft. A P&W statement called its JT8D-219 propulsion system the “most cost-effective approach.” And, a Northrop release asserted that, over the life of the program, the new engines “will pay for themselves in cost savings” when compared to the cost to maintain the older, existing engines.
No injuries were reported after an external fuel tank fell off an F-16 fighter into a residential neighborhood outside Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., on Jan. 7, a base spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. Photos posted online show what appears to be a centerline fuel tank that hangs from…