The US military is painting old planes for display, not for flight

The US government awarded a small contract to paint an aircraft for static display. This means the plane will be cleaned and repainted to look good, but it will not be made ready to fly.

This is a routine maintenance contract for a museum piece. It shows that the military continues to preserve its history, but it does not indicate any change in operational capacity or technology. It's a small, predictable expense for maintaining existing assets.