A Kyrgyzstan Tu-154 passenger airplane hit a US Air Force KC-135—wing tip to wing tip—at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, as the Tu-154 was taking off and the KC-135 was taxiing from the runway following its refueling mission. The USAF tanker caught fire, but the three crewmen aboard escaped without injury. According to a USAF release, the Kyrgyz aircraft continued its takeoff but then made an immediate emergency landing. No one on the airliner was injured. A joint investigation is underway.
Lockheed Martin plans to enter the Advanced Tactical Trainer fray to supply the Air Force with a new jet to bridge between undergraduate flight instruction and fighter training units, but declined to say whether it will offer a T-50A derivative, a different non-developmental airplane, or a clean-sheet design. It's comments…