The first Air Force high deck patient loading platform was designated operational April 9 at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. The new platform was used that day to transfer five patients to a KC-135 tanker for a flight to Ramstein AB, Germany. The HDPLP is a special purpose vehicle with an enclosed, lighted and climate-controlled cabin that is designed to move litter and ambulatory patients safely and comfortably on the ramp to waiting aircraft for transport to their next stage of medical care. It allows for easy access of high-deck aircraft such as KC-135s and KC-10s that the Air Force uses for aeromedical evacuation. “This new capability enhances the safety of ambulatory and litter patients giving them every possible means of a full recovery,” said Lt. Col. Robert Rocco, 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron commander. The Bagram unit is one of three currently in the Air Force. (Bagram report by Capt. Toni Tones)
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.