Airmen from the 12-nation Heavy Airlift Wing at Papa AB, Hungary, are gathered with airmen from the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein AB, Germany, for four days of aerial port training in the area around Ramstein and Grafenwoehr, Germany. The participants will conduct two personnel airdrop flights and two heavy equipment airdrops during the drills, which run through Thursday. They represents the first time that the HAW airmen, who operate three C-17s, have been part of a heavy equipment drop. “I am very excited to see this portion of our mission grow,” said USAF Maj. Brian Nicosia, HAW chief of wing weapon and tactics flight. USAF Maj. Daniel Lang, HAW director of operations, said the Ramstein airmen “are a perfect role model for our unit as we build airdrop capability.” The 86th AW operates a squadron of C-130Js. (Ramstein release)
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.