Work has begun to restore the Vietnam War-era De Havilland C-7A and Martin EB-57B aircraft normally on display at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Restoration crews are repainting the C-7A—it spent years outdoors on display—and giving it the markings of the 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing, said Roger Deere, the museum’s restoration division chief. They are converting the EB-57B back to a B-57B configuration like those that served with the 3rd Bomb Wing in Southeast Asia from 1967-69, noted museum research historian Jeff Duford. This includes changing the aircraft’s cowling and removing its antenna. These two restoration projects are part of an ongoing renovation of the museum’s Southeast Asia War exhibit area that will run until spring 2012. The museum has a web page where it posts periodic updates on the restorations. (Dayton report by Sarah Swan)
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.