The 459th Airlift Squadron at Yokota AB, Japan, has traded its C-21s small transport jets for C-12J turboprops in a not quite even swap—four for three. Navy Seaman A.C. Rainey reports that the base has flown the C-21 for 21 years. The C-12s can haul more and land at some fields inaccessible to the sleek C-21.
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.