An air commando died from injuries suffered in a ground vehicle accident during training on the Melrose Air Force Range in New Mexico, west of Cannon Air Force Base. The airman succumbed to the effects of head trauma while in a local hospital on May 12, one day after the mishap involving the utility task vehicle, according to officials with Cannon’s 27th Special Operations Wing. A second air commando was injured in the accident, but released from the hospital the same day as the mishap, Maj. Mindy Yu, 27th SOW spokeswoman told Air Force Magazine on May 13. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Air Force had not released the deceased airman’s name, pending notification of kin. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Yu confirmed that preliminary information indicates the vehicle rolled over.
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.