There’s more to the story of the first deployment of the new C-12 force at Yokota AB, Japan. Stars and Stripes reports that the Yokota airmen that deployed to support the US special operations mission in the Philippines last fall flew into short and rugged airfields to deliver cargo and troops, something the former Yokota C-21s could not have accomplished. Capt. Omar Rashid, one C-12 pilot, likened his aircraft to a Bronco SUV and the C-21 to a Mercedes. Another, 1st Lt. Logan Draves, said the runway on one island was “like an uphill sidewalk,” but he added, “I knew the aircraft could handle it.”
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.