A C-17 Globemaster III, which is assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright- Patterson AFB, Ohio, experienced an engine malfunction leading to a tail pipe fire in early January, according to a Jan. 29 release. No one was injured in the fire and crew members were able to extinguish it within 20 seconds, states the release. The Jan. 7 fire caused some $180,000 in damage to the aircraft. “Our aircrew and ground personnel did an awesome job in making sure the fire was extinguished in seconds. They are trained on engine fire procedures and knew exactly what to do as soon as the fire was discovered,” said Col. Michael Major, 445th AW commander. The aircraft has since been fixed and resumed flying on Jan. 27 thanks to members of the 445th Maintenance Group, technicians from aircraft manufacturer Boeing, and the 445th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s maintenance supply liaison section, states the release.
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.