The 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., has sent its last Block 20 EC-130H Compass Call aircraft to a Waco, Tex., depot for upgrades to its avionics and mission systems. The upgrade effort for the Block 20 Compass Call aircraft began in 1996. Tail No. 989, which has flown during Desert Storm and Allied Force and current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, will return to Davis-Monthan as a Block 35. (USAF photo 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.