The 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard AFB, Tex., has received its first two T-6 Texan II trainers, marking the start of the conversion from the T-37 Tweet for the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, reports the Times Record News. Wing pilots flew a ceremonial four-ship last fall to mark the end of the Tweet era. The wing expects to reach its full complement of Texans by December 2009; it’s the last base to convert to the new trainers.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.