The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates airlifters out of an undisclosed air base in Southwest Asia, recently shifted to commercial jet fuel from JP-8 military-specification fuel, a move that has the potential for big cost savings, announced wing officials. The 386th Expeditionary Logistics Squadron’s fuel flight last month received its first shipment of the commercial fuel, known as Jet A, states the wing’s July 29 release. The Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency have been working over the past few years to make the change possible. After the commercial fuel arrives, airmen inject it with the additives necessary for its use. “By buying a commercial fuel and injecting the additives later in the supply chain,” DLA is able to “procure the fuel at a cheaper price,” said SMSgt. Gregory Carrow of the Air Force Petroleum Agency. The Air Force is the largest consumer of jet fuel in the Defense Department. (386th AEW report by MSgt. Marelise Wood)
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.