Lockheed Martin dedicated an F-35 hangar at its aircraft assembly plant in Fort Worth, Tex., to the men and women who built, flew, and maintained the F-35’s namesake, the P-38 Lightning. The Oct. 4 ceremony featured veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam War, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. At the event, Lockheed Martin officials displayed the rendering of a mural that will be displayed on the hangar’s exterior. The mural includes the words “P-38 Lightning Hangar: The Legacy Continues.” Company spokesman Joe LeMarca told the Daily Report: “The P-38 Lightning was just as revolutionary to air dominance in its day as its namesake, the F-35 Lightning II, is now. It is out of this spirit of innovation that we named F-35 after the P-38. Like the original Lightning, the F-35 Lightning II provides a revolutionary capability in a time of great uncertainty.”
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.