The Pentagon announced Sept. 22 that Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriguez, 34, of El Paso, Tex., died Sept. 20 in Islamabad, Pakistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. The blast reportedly killed some 53 people, including two DOD personnel. Rodriguez was assigned to the 86th Construction & Training Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany.
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.