An F-16C at Aviano AB, Italy, on May 5 surpassed 7,000 flying hours. The 20-year-old fighter, tail #2057, is the first Aviano Viper to reach this mark, 3,000 hours past the original service life expected for the air-to-ground fighter. Structural upgrades over the years have extended the expected service life to 8,000 hours, according to Lt. Col. Matthew Sanford, 31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander at Aviano. He said that those upgrades “together with our continuous and meticulous flightline and phase inspection criteria” are enabling the F-16 fleet to make the 8,000-hour mark. (Aviano report by SSgt. Lindsey Maurice)
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.