Seven members of the Afghan National Army Air Force have graduated from the first basic intelligence course run by the Combined Air Power Transition Force for the fledgling Afghan air arm. The four-month course began in January at the ANAAF base in Kabul. The seven Afghan airmen, who completed the course on July 21, underwent 210 hours of classroom instruction. The training was designed to teach them how to provide intelligence to air operations in the dynamic environment of a counterinsurgency campaign, contribute to operations with the US and NATO coalition, and protect and utilize classified information. The class was taught both in English and Dari. Three US Air Force non-commissioned officers serving with CAPTF designed the course. The graduation was another milestone in CAPTF’s efforts to help build a capable and independent Afghan air force. (Kabul report by Capt. Rob Leese)
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.