Jack Pledger, head of Northrop Grumman’s infrared countermeasure business development, told reporters Monday at AFA’s Air and Space Conference that the delay in the KC-X tanker replacement program has prompted USAF to consider adding countermeasure pods to its legacy tanker fleet, particularly those oldest models flown by the Air National Guard. The KC-X has a countermeasures requirement, but the KC-135s and other slow-moving mobility aircraft that increasingly operate in forward areas are susceptible to man-portable surface-to-air missiles that have proliferated around the world. Pledger said he expects to receive approval to begin flight tests by year’s end with the company’s AAQ-24 directional infrared countermeasure (DIRCM) system on an ANG KC-135. The system already has flown on C-17s and C-130s and, if the KC-135 test proves out, Northrop expects to fit a similar capability onto the KC-10 fleet as well.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.