The Washington Congressional delegation has been busy promoting the Air National Guard’s 141st Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild AFB, Wash., as a potential operator for RC-26B counterdrug aircraft, reports the Spokesman Review (requires free sign up). The 141st has to give up its KC-135 refueling aircraft under BRAC 2005, but it will still fly tankers as an associate unit to the active duty wing at Fairchild. Instead of losing members, the 141st already has added slots to handle new work modifying KC-135 brake systems.
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.