The first HC-130J combat rescue aircraft destined for beddown with the 347th Rescue Group at Moody AFB, Ga., arrived at the Georgia base. The factory-fresh airplane left Lockheed Martin’s assembly facility in Marietta, Ga., on July 19 for the flight to its new home, according to the company’s release. Moody is about 250 miles southeast of Marietta. Maj. Gen. H.D. Polumbo, 9th Air Force commander at Shaw AFB, S.C., flew the HC-130J, serial number 5725, to Moody, states the release. This was the first of nine HC-130Js that Moody is scheduled to receive over the next five years, said Moody officials. The Air Force has plans to acquire 37 HC-130Js to replace its legacy HC-130Ps. The first combat-ready HC-130J arrived at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., last November. (Moody report by SrA. Jarrod Grammel)
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.