Lt. Col. Kevin Aunapu, operations director for Air Force Reserve Command’s 69th Fighter Squadron, reached 3,000 flight hours in the F-16, according to officials at Luke AFB, Ariz., where he is stationed. Aunapu achieved this milestone in late March, joining a group of some 250 other pilots who’ve spent that much time in the F-16 cockpit, according to Luke’s April 5 release. Aunapu has been flying F-16s for 25 years both in the Active Duty component and Reserve, states the release. “Quite simply, I would like to thank our dedicated aircraft maintainers,” he said in reflecting on his achievement. “I’ve been very fortunate. Flying jets that are older than many of the maintainers working on them is testament to the hard work and dedication they put into their profession,” he added. (Luke report by SrA. Kate Vaughn)
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.