Cannon AFB, N.M., last week received its seventh new-built MC-130J Commando II aircraft, announced manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The special-mission airplane arrived on June 20 direct from the company’s production facility at Marietta, Ga., states the company’s June 21 release. Assigned to Cannon’s 522nd Special Operations Squadron, aircraft no. 5695 will support covert infiltration and recovery, aerial refueling, and clandestine resupply, like Cannon’s other new MC-130Js. This airframe is the seventh of 11 aircraft slated for delivery to Cannon, according to Lockheed Martin. Air Force Special Operations Command is procuring the MC-130Js to replace legacy MC-130s in the fleet.
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.