Air Force Reserve Command’s 440th Airlift Wing, now at Pope AFB, N.C., and the active duty 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, also at Pope, have formed a training partnership. The 440th AW relocated to Pope from Milwaukee, Wis., but still has more than 50 Reservists in Wisconsin who need to maintain their qualifications. The active duty unit needed flight time to maintain the aeromedical certification for its airmen. The solution: A two-hour aeromedical training flight from Pope to Milwaukee, and then another flight back to Pope. Maj. Ann Peru Knabe reports that during those flights the medics simulated treating patients, and the Reservists responded to simulated in-flight emergencies. The 440th’s Det. 2 operations officer, Lt. Col. Stephen Chafe, called the partnership a “perfect match” and a “win-win” situation.
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.