The Air Force now has 24 pilots who can claim more than 4,000 hours in the F-16 fighter. According to a Sept. 19 release, Lt. Col. John Wynne surpassed that number on Sept. 12 during a training mission out of Luke AFB, Ariz. The colonel is an instructor pilot with Air Force Reserve Command’s 944th Fighter Wing at Luke. The Air Force Academy graduate said he was hooked on flying at the Colorado school and thanks good timing for keeping him in a Viper cockpit. “I love flying because there’s always a challenge to overcome, be it the weather, or new weapons or tactics that need to be mastered, or helping a student pilot wingman to grasp a new concept,” said Wynne. (944th FW report by SSgt. Stephen Razo)
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.