The F-22 fleet has been produced in a number of configurations, but the Air Force will ultimately consolidate it to just two, says Lockheed Martin F-22 program manager George Shultz. When the increment 3.2 software is installed, most F-22s will be brought up to “a common standard,” Schultz told reporters during a media tour of the Raptor production line in Marietta, Ga., last week. Some early F-22s “are harder to do” and will not be included, he said. The configuration changes will be worked in when F-22s go into depot for modifications. (For more from Schultz’s comments, read MADL Integration on F-22 May Slip.)
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
