Struct
ural maintenance airmen at Kunsan AB, South Korea, have just finished painting the first F-16 to receive an “arctic” paint scheme. It is destined for Eielson AFB, Alaska, where it will form part of Pacific Air Force’s new Red Flag-Alaska aggressor force. Eielson’s aggressor force will have three different paint schemes, depending on the time of year. Kunsan is getting Block 40 F-16s to replace its Block 30 Vipers, so it is sending the older versions to Alaska for the new aggressor unit. (Report by SSgt. Alice Moore.)
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
