Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Raymond Johns ferried the Air Force’s newest C-17 transport from Boeing’s assembly plant at Long Beach, Calif., to JB Lewis-McChord, Wash. “Every time our nation calls, you never hesitate,” said Johns, in addressing the airmen of the 62nd Airlift Wing and Air Force Reserve Command’s 446th AW upon delivering the C-17, already emblazoned with McChord’s green tail flash, to the joint base on Feb. 24. The two wings operate the base’s C-17 fleet under an association. With this airframe, Boeing has now supplied 216 of the 223 C-17s that the Air Force has ordered to date, Cindy Anderson, Boeing’s C-17 spokeswoman, told the Daily Report. Congress has appropriated funds for the Air Force to buy a total of 224 C-17s, meaning the service still has one to order. (McChord report by SSgt. Frances Kriss)
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.