Boeing officials told Flight International that Air Combat Command is slated in July to complete a long-term upgrade roadmap for the F-15E Strike Eagle. According to the FI report, ACC wants to include approval for avionics and supportability upgrades in its Fiscal 2012 budget submission. The Air Force already is adding a new Raytheon-built advanced electronically steered array radar to the Strike Eagle, which Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz praised last fall for its work in Southwest Asia operations. The service plans to keep it in action until around 2035.
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.