The remains of Capt. William Mauldin of Pickens, S.C., an Air Force pilot missing since the crash of his RF-51 Mustang in February 1952 during the Korean War, have been identified, the Department of Defense announced July 3. They will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors July 18 in Easley, S.C. Mauldin departed Kimpo AB, South Korea, on Feb. 21, 1952, on an aerial reconnaissance mission in North Korea, but was shot down during the mission and crashed near Sinan-ri. His remains were identified from among the 208 boxes of human remains turned over by North Korea between 1991 and 1994.
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.