The 49th Wing set a record for Holloman AFB, N.M., simultaneously launching 15 of its F-22s during a base-wide operational-readiness exercise. “I’m really proud of the efforts everyone made in this exercise,” summed 49th Wing Commander Col. David Krumm. “People were safe, effective, and they got their jobs done,” he added. The three-day exercise, held Feb. 27-29, evaluated Holloman’s ability “if called upon to rapidly deploy anywhere around the world,” said Maj. Max Vollkommer, 49th Wing planning chief. The event culminated in the F-22 scramble on Feb. 29. Evaluators also graded the base’s airmen in areas like force protection, deployment logistics, and personnel processing. Holloman is scheduled to lose its Raptor fleet under the Air Force’s F-22 consolidation plan. (Holloman report by A1C Anthony M. Ward) (For more on F-22 consolidation, read Moving Time from Air Force Magazine’s 2011 archive.)
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.