Yes, Air Force Space Command investigators have determined that a large insect was responsible for the chain of events that led to a transport vehicle carrying non-nuclear Minuteman III ICBM components overturning in a rural area near Minot AFB, N.D., on Aug. 31. According to the findings of AFSPC’s accident investigation board, the large bug flew through the driver’s open window and landed on his back, causing him to become distracted and to fail to maintain control of the vehicle as he tried to remove the insect. The vehicle drifted to the right side of the gravel road on which it was travelling and its tires eventually went off the road’s right edge. It then began to tip over onto its right side and ultimately landed in a ditch. Total cost of the mishap, including vehicle recovery, is still being assessed. (AFSPC report)
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.