The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is just entering production, but word is spreading—rightly or wrongly—that it is “much louder” than the fighters it will replace. Consider this headline on an Arizona Daily Star report: “D-M could be base for loud new fighter jet.” USAF has been fending off and making accommodations for the noise issue as it tries to introduce the new fighter at Eglin AFB, Fla., the BRAC 2005-directed site for the joint training facility. Now, the service is preparing candidate lists for its primary operations and training sites—and Davis-Monthan is among more than 200 potential sites USAF is currently paring down. Area residents had favored the idea, but now the Daily Star reports that supporters are having second thoughts because the new jet “could be up to a dozen times louder” than the A-10s that currently fly out of D-M. Ouch.
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.