All four of the UH-1N Huey helicopters assigned to Yokota Air Base, near Tokyo, last week took to the skies together for a formation flight—something that hasn’t happened there in nine years. “For Yokota, this was an opportunity for the base to see all four aircraft in-flight together [for the first time] since 2002, and also a chance for some of the newest aircrew members to experience how the Air Force’s wingman culture translates to formation flight,” stated a base official. The 42-year-old helicopters, belonging to the 459th Airlift Squadron, headed southwest toward Mt. Fuji during their four-ship flight on May 19. (Yokota photo caption by SrA. Andrea Salazar)
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.