The 
last C-5A Galaxy at Westover ARB, Mass., departed the base for good en route to retirement at the Air Force’s aircraft boneyard in the Arizona desert, according to base officials. The 44-year-old airframe (aircraft No. 68-0211) left Westover on Sept. 25 for Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., states Westover’s Oct. 5 release. Nicknamed “Miss Piggy,” the massive transport was assigned to the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 167th Airlift Wing at Martinsburg, but arrived at Westover almost a year ago in preparation for its retirement, according to the release. Officials with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan said they received a total of 11 C-5As, along with three B-1B bombers and seven legacy-model C-130s, in a “retirement rush” during the last two weeks of Fiscal 2012. The Air Force wants to retire its remaining C-5A fleet, while upgrading its C-5Bs and C-5Cs to C-5M Super Galaxy standards. (Includes Westover report by MSgt. Andrew Biscoe)
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.