Maintainers tending an F-16 of the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing failed to properly torque bolts connecting a fuel line to the main fuel control unit, resulting in the crash of the fighter on Jan. 19, according to an Air Combat Command release last week. The accident investigation board found that the single-engine aircraft suffered a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff and failed to restart during several attempts by the pilot, who then ejected, suffering only minor injuries.
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.