An Air Force C-17 transport operating with the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, on May 16 delivered approximately 100,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies to Kulob, Tajikistan, following two weeks of flooding and mudslides in that Central Asian nation. The airlifter brought in tents and other supplies to provide temporary shelter for families displaced by the severe weather. Kulob is about 70 miles southwest of Dushanbe, the Tajik capital. While the C-17s that fly from Manas are primarily occupied with supporting military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Air Force maintains the flexibility to use them in relief roles, when needed, said Capt. Dan O’Keefe who lead the planning for this relief in Air Mobility Command’s operational nerve center at Scott AFB, Ill. (Scott report by Capt. Justin Brockhoff)
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.