The 310th Airlift Squadron at MacDill AFB, Fla., in October received world-wide recognition when Gulfstream Aerospace named it one of the inaugural winners of the Gulfstream Outstanding Flight Award, presenting it with the Alber-Rowley Trophy. “It was an amazing feat and a humbling experience to win,” said Lt. Col. Jennifer Uptmor, the squadron’s commander. The unit, which operates C-37A transports that are based on the Gulfstream V aircraft, was recognized for shuttling a four-star general on an eight-day, 13-leg expedition to Southwest Asia. During it, squadron members flew into a combat zone, encountered heavy snow flurries and low visibility, and faced the threat of small-arms fire. Uptmor said it was an “intense mission” that took the flight crew to maximum duty days on “a tight and unforgiving schedule.” (MacDill report by A1C Katherine Holt)
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.