One airman assigned to Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa is confirmed dead while two others are still missing, according to a base release. The three airmen were washed out to sea from the island’s northwest coast at 3:45 p.m. local time on Oct. 5 as Typhoon Phanfone raged around the island. The Japanese Coast Guard pulled the one airman from the sea; medical personnel at a local hospital later pronounced the airman dead. HH-60s from Kadena and Japanese Coast Guard are continuing to search for the remaining two airmen. Rough seas are complicating rescue efforts, states the release. The Air Force is withholding the names of the airmen for 24 hours, pending notification of their next of kin.
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.