A diamond-formation 
flyby of 16 Harrier GR.7/GR.9 aircraft last week over RAF Cottesmore in eastern England, ceremoniously ended 41 years of Harrier service in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell, commander of the RAF’s No 1 Group, called the Harrier a “testament to the innovation and excellence of British design” that “takes its place in history as one of aviation’s greats.” The Harrier’s brisk retirement follows on the heels of sweeping cuts to British defense forces announced in October. As part of the retirement ceremony, four Harriers received retro paint schemes depicting the aircraft’s service over the years from defense of the Falklands in 1982 to operations in Afghanistan. The US Marine Corps still operates a Harrier variant, the BAE-McDonald Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II, an outgrowth of the original Hawker Siddley design. (Includes MOD release)
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.