California Air National Guardsmen, flying two HH-60G Pave Hawks from Moffett Federal Airfield northwest of San Jose, rescued an ailing sailor from a vessel under way some 200 miles off the California coast. Refueling en-route by an MC-130P tanker allowed the pair of 129th Rescue Wing helicopters to reach the ship Sunday afternoon, recovering a patient suffering from stroke-like symptoms. “The Coast Guard knew they could depend on our specialized capability” to reach the victim from long range, said Col. Steven Butow, 129th RQW commander. “This is a prime example of how the 129th and California National Guard [are] ready to support civilian authorities at a moment’s notice,” he added. The Air Guardsmen evacuated the 54-year old patient from the container ship MCS Beijing and brought him to a hospital in San Jose for treatment. The wing’s aircrew and pararescuemen were credited with the unit’s 948th “save” for the Feb. 4 mission. (Moffett release)
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.