When six airmen took off April 29 in Doom 94, a B-52H bomber from the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale AFB, La., to participate in the Navy’s multinational UNITAS exercise, their mission was to bomb the ex-destroyer USS Connolly that was sitting off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., and serving as the target of live-fire shooting practice for the US and 10 foreign navies present. In fact, this B-52 was supposed to be part of the last wave of attacks on the Connolly, sending it to the ocean bottom. But when the B-52 arrived at the scene, the ship was already sinking after having been pummeled with more than 1,600 weapons ranging from Harpoon missiles to rockets. So Doom 94 turned back for home without striking the ship. It landed at Barksdale seven hours after takeoff, having covered 2,500 nautical miles. Capt. Colby Platner, 96th BS chief of strategic plans, said although it was “frustrating” not to be able to execute the strike, “training exercises don’t always go as planned.” Nonetheless, he said participation in the joint and multinational event was still “great training.” (Barksdale report by A1C Allison M. Boehm)
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.