Members of the Tennessee Air National Guard’s 164th Airlift Wing in Memphis inaugurated the unit’s transition from the C-5A transport to the C-17, reported Memphis’ The Commercial Appeal. The Feb. 2 ceremony featured two of the eight C-17s on display that the wing will have in place by 2015, according to the newspaper’s report from that same day. “Anytime you change from one platform to another is really a major thing within the military,” said wing spokesman Capt. Ben Alumbaugh. Wing maintainers began training on the C-17 last year at JB McChord-Lewis, Wash, in preparation for the arrival of the new airlifter type at Memphis.
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.