Members of the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron at Andersen AFB, Guam, were some of the first airmen to learn a new technique to quickly repair airfield damage in combat situations, according to a base release. “This is a significant step in base recovery that provides [more] capability in addition to traditional rapid runway repair,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Carter, 36th CES commander, in Andersen’s Feb. 28 release. The airmen trained on the new technique in late January. Under the new process, airmen clear the debris from the surface of the flight line and then cut a square around the damaged area with a specialized saw. They remove the remaining concrete from the damaged area, and fill in the hole with low-strength concrete, followed by a rapid-set concrete cap, states the release. The Air Force chose Andersen to be a test base in part because of its key location in the Pacific and since its flight line is large enough for airmen to practice without impacting daily missions. (Andersen report A1C Emily A. Bradley)
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.