The News Journal of Mansfield, Ohio, has labeled the salvation of the Ohio Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing one of its “Top 10 stories of 2007.” As the News Journal reports, the 179th AW was on the BRAC 2005 chopping block. It will lose its C-130 transports but gain a new airlift mission, flying the C-27J Spartan, selected last summer as the Joint Cargo Aircraft. The 179th AW also will host a new 200-member RED HORSE unit.
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.