The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center recently completed modification of the first E-3 Sentry to the Block 40/45 standard at Tinker AFB, Okla. The 27-year-old airframe is the first of six low-rate initial production aircraft that technicians at Tinker are updating with a new onboard computer network, ground station interface, and infrastructure upgrades. The team “overcame a leaking radome, hydraulic contamination, and a late corrosion find,” yet managed to finish under budget and 23 days ahead of schedule, said Col. Cedric George, 76th Wing Commander, during the Aug. 25 rollout ceremony. “This is a textbook example of how you want industry and the Air Force working together,” added Maj. Gen. David Gillett, OC-ALC commander. All six LRIP aircraft are due for completion by 2014, with initial operational test and evaluation slated for next spring. USAF plans to make a decision on upgrading the remaining 25 AWACS by 2012. (Tinker report by Brandice O’Brien)
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…