That is the feeling one of the latest 3,000-hour F-16 veterans has about his aircraft. Lt. Col. Sam Shaneyfelt, commander of the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., recently became the 139th Air Force pilot to surpass 3,000 flying hours in the F-16, which he also described as “fast, lethal, and drop dead gorgeous.” He made his milestone flight out of Hill AFB, Utah. (Hill report by SSgt. Samuel King Jr.)
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.