A C-17 was damaged on Dec. 23 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, when it departed the hard surface of the runway at about 6:20 a.m. local time, Air Forces Central said in a release. The aircraft is from the 315th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, S.C. There were no injuries and no damage to airfield facilities, AFCENT said. No additional details were provided. The Air Force will convene a safety board to investigate the mishap.
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.