A recent operational readiness exercise gave testers from the active duty 416th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif., and the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center in Tucson, Ariz., the opportunity to join forces in conducting accelerated development testing on a software upgrade for Block 30 F-16s, primarily flown by the air reserve components. Service officials expect Software Capability Upgrade-6 to improve the fighter’s survivability and weapons capacity and effectiveness. Team members put in 12-hour days to meet an aggressive flying schedule, carrying out approximately 20 sorties over eight days.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
