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F-22s and their pilots and support personnel from the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, headed back home March 3 after spending two weeks at Holloman AFB, N.M. The Elmendorf Raptors came to Holloman on Feb. 17 after participating in a Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev. They did not head home to Elmendorf initially due to concern that Mount Redoubt, an active volcano near Elmendorf, might erupt based on its recent seismic activity. The F-22s, while at Holloman, were able to continue their training. “We were glad to assist,” said Col. Jeffery Harrigian, commander of Holloman’s 49th Fighter Wing, which, like the 3rd Wing, is in the process of standing up two F-22 squadrons. Some Elmendorf C-17s and support personnel began relocating in early February to McChord AFB, Wash., as a precautionary measure. SMSgt. Stephen Lee, a 3rd Wing public affairs official, told the Daily Report yesterday that all of the base’s air assets are now back home except for those F-22s currently deployed to Guam and a C-17 and E-3 AWACS now participating in an exercise in Thailand. (Includes Holloman report by SrA. Michael Means)
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.