Boeing is stepping up its effort to secure the contract for the Air Force’s next aerial refueling aircraft. Roxana Tiron of The Hill reports that Boeing plans to send out a summer barrage of press releases to the “top 18 states with high stakes in the tanker program.” The focus would be on the 44,000 US jobs the company now says a program to build 179 new tankers, dubbed KC-X, would support. Both Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS have their Congressional supporters. The KC-X is now USAF’s top acquisition priority, and the program would grow beyond the initial buy.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.