A new, $15 million gun range has opened at Maxwell AFB, Ala., for airmen undergoing weapons qualification training and for firearms courses for security forces. The new range replaces the base’s old one that dated back to 1945. The fully contained range is larger than its predecessor, featuring two bays with 42 firing points each, sound-reducing material, and the ability to withstand higher caliber ammunition. Maxwell officials consider it “a vast improvement over the last facility.” “Each bay has a control tower with a built-in public address system to give loud and clear commands to the shooters,” said TSgt. Johnnie Grove, noncommissioned officer in charge of combat arms for Maxwell’s 42nd Security Forces Squadron. There is also a new combat arms training center adjacent to the range that has two large classrooms, an expanded armory, and a weapons maintenance area. (Maxwell report by Christopher Kratzer)
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.