Boeing delivered a third C-17 transport to the United Arab Emirates during a ceremony at the company’s final assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif. The Middle East nation has six C-17s on order. It received its first C-17 in May and the second in June. Those two aircraft “have been flying around the world in support of humanitarian missions,” stated UAE Air Force and Air Defence Col. Pilot Humaid Al Mansoori at the July 28 ceremony. He added, “The fleet’s newest airlifter is a welcome addition so that we can continue to be ready for any contingency, anywhere and anytime.” Boeing is scheduled to deliver the fourth UAE C-17 later this year and the remaining two next year. There are now 234 C-17s in service worldwide: 211 in the Air Force and 23 with international customers.(Boeing 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.