Instructor pilots at Sheppard AFB, Tex., recently took four T-37 Tweet training aircraft for a final four-ship formation flight to mark the end of the Tweet era at Sheppard. SSgt. Tonnette Thompson reports that the Texas base begins its transition to the new T-6 Texan II next year. The eight IPs in the four-ship have a total of more than 26,530 flying hours in the Tweet. The 141 T-37s at Sheppard are destined for the Boneyard at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. Sheppard will get 75 Texans in their stead.
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.