Air Force Materiel Command’s Arnold Engineering Development Center is running tests on the F118-100 GE engine—the power plant for the Air Force’s B-2 bomber fleet—to ensure the new components of a service life extension program have no detrimental effect on the engine. The engine performance, say officials, should be the same as it has been, but the revamped engines should have improved sustainability and supportability. So far, so good, they say, noting that they met more objectives on the first run than anticipated. They expect to complete 90 hours of run time through the end of March. AEDC ran similar tests on a refurbished U-2 engine, completing tests ahead of schedule.
The U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…
