That surprises me. I know the JT8D-2xx series are very good workhorse engines, but why wouldn’t the USAF go with more modern high-bypass CFMs when they re-engine the E-3 and E-8? That’s what they put on the KC-135, I think. Not to mention the fact that CFMs are still being manufactured.
Don’t get me wrong, I love JT8Ds. I have a weakness for 727s. :) And I like hearing the MD-88s blast off from RDU when I’m near the airport.
}:-)4
The JT8D-2xx are cheaper, and they require almost no modification of the aircraft. Supposedly the CFM-56 can interfere with the radar pattern of the AWACS, but the French, British, and Saudi air forces all fly AWACS with CFM-56 engines.