An
F-15A fighter from the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 199th Fighter Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base was transferred on Aug. 26 to the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on Ford Island for static display there. “This F-15A is a priceless addition to the museum’s collection of historic aircraft,” Kenneth DeHoff, the museum’s executive director, said in a release Aug. 25. “It joins our recently acquired F-14 Tomcat which arrived in July.” This F-15A (76-0063) has been in service since 1977, according to the museum. It served initially with the then-49th Tactical Fighter Wing (now-49th Fighter Wing) at Holloman AFB, N.M., until transferring to the Hawaii Air Guard in 1992. The 199th FS is on tap to transition from the F-15 to the F-22 stealth fighter early next decade. The unit expects to receive in June 2010 the first of its 20 F-22s. (Includes Hickam photo caption by MSgt. Robert Burgess)
The Pentagon awarded a contract worth over $2 billion for the next batch of F-35 engines to Pratt & Whitney on June 5. The deal for Lot 17 F135 engines, totaling $2.02 billion, is expected to be completed by December 2025.