Airmen at Andersen AFB, Guam, have completed a $6.1 million project to install four state-of-the-art instrument landing systems at the base’s air field. These new Selex 2100 Series ILS allow pilots to utilize any one of Andersen’s four landing approaches in bad weather and land safely, according to TSgt. Jarrett Blea, noncommissioned officer in charge of the base’s airfield systems. In the past, Andersen’s flightline had only one ILS. This severely limited the options for landing aircraft during the frequent rainstorms associated with Guam. The new capability significantly improves the base’s ability to support the continuous presence of bombers and fighters that operate from there on regular rotations to deter aggression in the region. The project took almost three years of planning and more than 18 months of construction. Andersen is the first Pacific Air Forces base to feature Selex 2100s. (Andersen report by SrA. Shane Dunaway)
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.