Munition
s specialists at Ramstein AB, Germany saved the Air Force more than $31 million by doing the overhaul of 63 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles themselves. Airmen of the 435th Munitions Squadron worked with Raytheon contract technicians to transfer rocket motors from older AIM-120A AMRAAMs to the newer AIM-120B and C models. It took them three years. As they gained experience, they advanced from completing two a day to six per day.
The Air Force just got its hands on its first operational T-7A trainer jet, and officials are already thinking about adding a slew of upgrades—including some that could help the service use the Red Hawk to train less experienced pilots.