A tentative timeline unfurled last week by Air Force officials calls for deactivation of the first squadron of KC-135 tanker aircraft at Grand Forks AFB, N.D., in April 2008, reports the Grand Forks Herald. Officials completed a survey of the base for its new UAV mission and presented a preliminary transition plan (see above). They said that the Air Force would release a final plan some time this fall.
The Pentagon is considering ditching the Air Force’s plan to buy the E-7 Wedgetail as it looks to outsource the airborne target-tracking mission to space, defense officials indicated this week.