Lockheed 
Martin officials opened a new bay at the company’s facility in Marietta, Ga., to support modernization of Air Force C-5 transports. The bay, located in the southwest portion of Marietta’s L-10 hangar, is the third of four bays that the company is establishing in the hangar to upgrade a total of 52 of the Air Force’s C-5s under the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program. The bay officially opened June 30 when a C-5 entered it. The fourth bay is scheduled to open in late 2012, enabling the company to reach the full rate of upgrade activities—11 aircraft per year—in mid 2013. (Lockheed photo caption by Todd McQueen; second photo caption by McQueen)
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.