Airmen with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron are closing down their propeller centralized repair facility in Southwest Asia, after having supported C-130H operations in Air Forces Central Command’s area of responsibility since 2006. “It’s a combination of factors, including the drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said MSgt. Larry Frady, the 379th EMXS propeller CRF flight chief, in explaining the reasons for the closure. “There are also less C-130H models in the field,” he said in an Oct. 10 release from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the squadron’s parent unit. The facility has repaired the propellers on C-130Hs operating in the theater, allowing quicker turnaround times than having to send the propellers to depots elsewhere. In 2013 alone, the airmen in the shop have repaired or refurbished 123 propellers, saving the Air Force nearly $20 million in repair costs and thousands of dollars in shipping costs, states the release. (379th AEW report by SrA. Bahja J. Jones)
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.