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The biggest drawback is that this jet is 15 years, minimum, too late to the party if the timeline for us to use it in INDOPACOM is to be believed. I'm sure all those capes you listed are possible, and eventually that jet might actually be able to do all of them. At some point it might actually be manufactured rapidly, at scale, and with enough parts required to sustain it. The bros that went to work for Lockheed, Boeing, or X consulting company after the AF came to the squadrons and pitched the same BS for jets like the F-35, F-15EX, and T-7 etc.

Northrop already has a flying wing boom. Huh? Same offload as a KC-135 Multi-speed range drogue for Helo/TiltRotor/Jet AR can refuel two aircraft at same time AND still has a boom for USAF AR. Operates of 3,000' strips. In war games run it COMPLETELY changed the dynamic of the fight. a. More gas on station for same number of platforms because it can operate forward and shuttle gas to the IP faster. b. 198 airfields in INDOPCOM forward that can handle big-wing tankers. 1,000 4,000 asphalt/dirt approved in same. You are 180 out my friend. USAF is trapped in a Stockholm syndrome of ideology. This biggest shortfall of this platform is we would get 2.5 for 1 and it would require more pilots. I spent a year on this project including walking the fully digital production line in Brazil...zero paper used to make this plane, completely state of the art.

Boeing and Airbus both probably don't want Embraer to manufacture a boom. Teaming with Northrop is an interesting development. I'm still not convinced the USAF would entertain the 390, jucie just not worth the squeeze (complex with limited offload). If money and manpower were not a factor the 390 would be a neat addition. A boom 390 could be relevant to countries with smaller geography and inventories, and who could maximize the efficiency of reconfiguring the aircraft between boom and cargo; Portugal, Poland, Argentina, Chile, Greece, Romania are few that come to mind.

Airbus has a boom, cut Boeing out of the equation

A book was in development for the KC-390. Boeing is predatory and trying to block all efforts to engineer a new boom. Buying up all the surplus booms, even in airparks. Putting a boom on the 390 changes the tanker calculus and Boeing can't have that.

News https://theaviationist.com/2026/02/20/embraer-northrop-grumman-kc-390-tanker-boom/

Hey everyone, please take what I’m about to say with the smallest piece of a grain of salt. I have a buddy who got picked up for officer training school and is there right now and graduates in a few weeks. When he got picked up, he got selected for RPA even though his number one was manned Pilot. He sent me a message this morning and said that he was just offered a Pilot slot and he took it in ots. I’ve heard of something happening like this before a few years ago, but it was super rare. I asked him how this happened and that I was super happy for him and he said that him and nine other people were pulled into a room with the commandant and the commandant informed them that the Air Force needs 150 more pilots and that he’s giving them the opportunity to switch from the job that they currently have to Pilot. With that being said, I don’t know that it would affect any alternates that may have been selected for this board, but if the Air Force exhausts all of its pipelines for training that could be an opportunity for more people to get picked up if they were an alternate and that’s just my assumption. This is not based on anything official.

buT tHe sUpReME cOUrt iS cONseRvatIvE

New Vance AFB "What-A-Rigger" patch from the AFE Parachute Shop. Big news for Enid when the chain arrived this past year.

Donnie taking some Ls this week. AP NewsLive updates: Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s sweeping...The Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/u-k-denying-u-key-204753298.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/u-k-denying-u-key-204753298.html

I think Obama is trolling, and Trump is falling for it.

NBC NewsTrump says he's directing the Pentagon to release files r...Trump's comments came hours after he claimed that former President Barack Obama shared "classified information"' when he told a podcaster recently that he believed aliens were real.Distraction or the beginning of disclosure?

A recent T-38 class patch from Vance.

The last T-1A class patch, Vance.

Follow-up on no AMEL rumors (for the nerds like me who care about an FAA rating lol): After talking to a buddy at Denton IPT, there's a hard cutoff after which students have to return to their UPT base. If maintenance/weather prevents planes from flying and students can't get the last checkride in they aren't penalized, they'll just have to leave IPT without that last rating. Also, if you're lucky enough to know your IPT base you can get the welcome packet for your 141 school from the ETCA CAC-site.

We lost a load of F-4's also. It was not a mx friendly airplane.

Iran lost an F-4 today during workup to attack Israel and U.S. Forces. Reports indicate the pilot who was the commander of the training squadron was killed, his WSO was wounded but survived. In other news, Iran rejected the "deal" today...its going to get sporty. God speed to all our folks downrange.

The mid-terms are shaping up to be a battle of the ick. Trump continues to run his mouth and say $hitty things, the Dems continue to actually do $hitty things. Look no further than New York City with new mayor Mamdani and his road to ruin in NYC. Promised to end sweeps of homeless camps, broke that promise less than 60 days in and restarted sweeps today. Published his $127 billion budget for its 8.4 million residents. In contrast, the entire state of Florida, with a population roughly three times larger (approx. 23 million), is considering a budget of around $113.6 to $115 billion. His budget has some interesting items and actions. a. $5.6M and $4.6M for racial equity programs. b. $835K for gender equity initiatives. c. Up to a 9.5% property tax hike. d. Cancelling the hiring of 5,000 police officers. e. $1 billion plan to establish a new Department of Community Safety. f. Withdrawing $229 million from this fund in fiscal year 2027. (64% of NYC teachers voted for him 🤣). g. Withdrawing $980 million from the city's rainy day fund. Ordering lots of popcorn to watch NYC turn into an even bigger crap hole.

There have been at least 32 driving-related arrests/citations involving the Georgia football program since January 2023... Take the damn car keys away, already! 🤦‍♂️

Got my RIP for Vance, IPT in November (requested later date). No info on IPT location.

https://www.pizzint.watch/

War on the RocksChina Now Finds Itself in al-Qaeda’s CrosshairsCould China replace the United States atop the target list of transnational jihadist groups like al-Qaeda? A recent statement released by Sheikh Saad binWelcome to the club