T
he first two of 15 former South Korean T-38 trainer aircraft have arrived at Holloman AFB, N.M., for regeneration to operational status and use as aggressor aircraft in F-22 training drills at JB Langley, Va., and Tyndall AFB, Fla. “The addition of these T-38s will dramatically increase the combat capability of our F-22 pilots,” said Lt. Col. Derek Wyler, Langley’s T-38 adversary air program lead. Plus, USAF officials say the T-38s will be affordable to operate in this role. The 15 T-38s returned to the United States from South Korea in November 2009 and have been sitting at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., since. M1 Support Services will overhaul them at Holloman. The first seven rebuilt T-38s will be assigned to Langley; the others are destined for basing at Tyndall. NASA is using a modified, wide-bodied cargo aircraft to bring the T-38s to Holloman, two at a time. All 15 T-38s are slated be at Holloman in February. (Holloman report by SrA. Sondra Escutia)
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.