Air Force Reserve Command plans to swap eight C-130H3 Hercules airlifters from the 914th Airlift Wing at Niagara Falls ARS, N.Y., for eight C-130H2 Herks currently flown by AFRC’s 934th AW at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport ARS, Minn., to facilitate the earlier buildup of 12 H2 models at Niagara Falls that we reported last week. The other four H2s will come from the Tennessee Air National Guard’s 118th AW at Nashville. The New York ANG’s 107th Air Refueling Wing (name change coming?) and AFRC’s 914th AW will share operation and maintenance of the new 12-aicraft force of H2 Herks at Niagara Falls. The 914th AW will own the aircraft. Meanwhile, the Nashville Air Guard unit already knew it would lose its current C-130s.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.